A potyvirus (isolate IB) causing dappled or faded fruits and foliar mosaic symptoms of purple passionfruit, was found in the botanical garden of Kagoshima University, Japan. This isolate--differed in host range from isolates of Passion fruit woodiness virus (PWV)-AO, previously reported to cause "woodiness" in Japan. Isolates IB and AO had 83% amino acid identity in their coat proteins (CPs). In phylogenetic analysis, East Asian isolates IB, AO, and PWV-Taiwan clustered together, and were distinguishable from Australian PWV and Brazilian Cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus isolates, which also cause "woodiness" in passionfruit. We propose the name "East Asian Passiflora virus (EAPV)" for the new potyvirus species.