TOKYO – Twenty local governments including Hokkaido and Hiroshima prefectures on Wednesday introduced a new lodging tax for people staying in hotels and other accommodations.
The move more than doubles the number of local governments adopting the tax system from 19 previously, highlighting a growing effort to improve tourism infrastructure and address overtourism as the number of foreign visitors rises.
In Hokkaido, northern Japan, a prefecture-wide system has been implemented, with visitors charged a tax ranging from 100 yen ($0.6) to 500 yen, depending on the cost of their accommodation.
In addition, 15 municipalities in Hokkaido have introduced their own tax systems. For example, in the capital Sapporo, visitors must pay the prefectural accommodation tax plus an additional 200 yen for stays costing 50,000 yen or less per night per person, or an additional 500 yen for stays costing more than 50,000 yen per night per person.
Hiroshima Prefecture in western Japan has also introduced a prefecture-wide lodging tax, with visitors staying at accommodations costing 6,000 yen or more per night charged 200 yen, while those staying below that amount are exempt.
The three others are Yugawara, a town in Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo, where a tax ranging from 300 yen to 500 yen has been set, and the cities of Gifu in Gifu Prefecture and Toba in Mie Prefecture, where visitors are charged 200 yen per night.
Another 16 local governments, including Nagano Prefecture, have received approval from Japan’s internal affairs minister to introduce the tax system and plan to implement it sequentially starting in June.
AloJapan.com