The Foreign Ministry will extend the service hours of its visa consultation center and offices dealing with consular matters starting Tuesday, ministry officials said Friday.

The visa consultation center, open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., will extend its hours to between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. with a lunch break from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m., the officials said.

The center provides visitors with over-the-counter information about documents required in applications for visas to enter or stay in Japan and about the status of visa applications submitted to Japan's embassies and consulates general abroad.

Other offices extending service hours are those for issuing passports to Japanese nationals, for safety consultations when traveling abroad and for certifying government-issued official documents to be used for processing abroad.

These will also be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for the lunch break, the officials said.

Ministry offices are closed on weekends and on public holidays.

The extension of service hours is part of the ministry's efforts to reform in response to revelations this year of several public-fund embezzlement scandals involving ministry officials and numerous complaints from the public about consular services.