Japanese lawmakers are expected to discuss how to deal with the country’s departure tax as part of tax reforms for the next fiscal year.
Travelers leaving Japan, including Japanese citizens, must pay 1,000 yen, or about 6 dollars and 50 cents, per person.
The departure tax, formally called the International Tourist Tax, was introduced in 2019. It is collected as a fee added to the prices of tickets for airlines and other forms of transportation.
Japan generated 52.4 billion yen, or about 340 million dollars, in revenue from the departure tax in fiscal 2024. The revenue is used for measures to improve conditions to accept foreign tourists and promote domestic tourism policies.
Some members of the Japanese government and ruling party have called for a hike in the departure tax from the current 1,000 yen to 3,000 yen, or nearly 20 dollars.
They have proposed that increased revenue be used to address new challenges caused by overtourism, such as transportation congestion and disruptive behavior by some foreign tourists.
But others have expressed concerns about consistency with the government policy to increase foreign visitors to Japan.
Lawmakers are poised to begin discussions on tax reforms in fiscal 2026 with the focus on whether the tax should be raised and by how much.
AloJapan.com