Courtesy of Henley & Partners.
73-year-old Japanese swimmer Toshio Tominaga completed a 9 hour 58 minute crossing of the Tsugaru Channel on his first attempt in 2016.
This channel crossing was a life-long dream of his, but if he wanted to travel the world, he certainly has the right passport to do so nearly hassle-free.
A recently published report by Henley & Partners (i.e., Henley Passport Index) documents how many countries Tominaga can enter without a visa: 180.
Passport-holding swimmers of Japan and Singapore can enjoy visa-free entry to a 180 countries around the world with Germany the next most door-opening document with visa-free access to 179 countries.
Parag Khanna, Senior Fellow at the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the National University of Singapore, explains, “These two states in particular are identified as peaceful commercial powers, with their citizens interested primarily in business and investment activities.”
Henley Passport Index Top 25 Visa-Free Access Ranking:
1. Japan, Singapore: 180
2. Germany: 179
3. Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Sweden, Spain, South Korea: 178
4. Norway, United Kingdom, Austria, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal: 177
5. Switzerland, Ireland, USA, Canada: 176
6. Belgium, Australia, Greece: 174
7. New Zealand, Czech Republic, Malta: 173
8. Iceland: 172
9. Hungary: 171
10. Latvia: 170
11. Liechtenstein, Malaysia: 169
12. Slovakia, Slovenia: 167
13. Poland, Lithuania: 166
14. Monaco, Estonia: 165
15. Cyprus: 163
16. Hong Kong, Chile: 161
17. Brazil: 160
18. Argentina: 158
19. Romania, Andorra, San Marino: 157
20. Croatia, Bulgaria: 156
21. Brunei: 153
22. Israel: 152
23. Barbados: 150
24. Seychelles, Mexico: 144
25. Bahamas: 142
In contrast to Tominaga, Olympic swimmer Saleh Mohammad of Syria who has competed in over 30 international races on the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix, FINA Marathon Swimming World Cup, FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships, FINA World Championships and other international events since 2006 undoubtedly has spent a lot of timing asking for and securing visas during the course of his competitive career:
Henley Passport Index Bottom 5 Visa-Free Access Ranking:
101. Somalia: 32
102. Pakistan: 30
103. Syria: 28
104. Iraq: 27
105. Afghanistan: 24
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