My passport will expired in less than 6 months, can I re-enter Japan?

Question

My Japan resident card is good until 2021, but my passport will expire in less than 6 months. I need to go on a business trip outside of Japan very soon and may not have enough time to renew my passport.

The trip itself only lasts about 1 week so my passport will still be valid when I come back, but with less than 6 months of validity, will I be able to enter Japan?

Update: the consensus is while I won't have trouble entering Japan with my soon to expired passport, it is possible that airline will deny me boarding. Because of that, I decided to play it safe and paid some extra money to have my passport renewed quickly.

Answer 1

There is no 6 month validity requirement listed in the official guidelines.

Requirements for foreigners entering Japan:

Foreigners must have a valid passport to enter Japanese territory.

And Landing Procedures for foreign nationals:

A foreign national must satisfy the following conditions for landing in Japan (Article 7, Paragraph 1 of the Immigration Control Act) before he is permitted to enter the country with the status of residence and period of stay authorized.

1. The foreign national must hold a valid passport with a valid visa issued by a Japanese counsular officer;

Answer 2

For Japanese immigration passport should be valid on reentry day. Problem can be with airline if they use inconsistent information.