New Japanese Passports Centralize Production, New Security Features
Ryuko Tadokoro from The Mainichi:
The page displaying the passport holder's photo now uses plastic instead of laminated paper, and incorporates technologies such as holographic cherry blossoms and watermark cranes. Special processing has also been applied to raise the photo and date of birth above the surface.
Passports are one of my special interests and I always find it interesting on how they are produced. As the article mentions, previously they were made locally but no longer.