"Kyoto to Raise Accommodation Tax Up to Tenfold"... Japanese Local Governments Introduce New Accommodation Taxes One After Another

17 Local Governments Last Year… 30 New Ones to Introduce the Tax This Year

The cost burden for travelers visiting Japan is expected to increase. This is because the number of local governments imposing accommodation taxes on hotel and inn guests will rise significantly this year.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on January 10, around 30 local governments plan to introduce new accommodation taxes this year. The accommodation tax is a fee collected by local governments from lodging facilities based on local ordinances. As of the end of last year, only 17 local governments had implemented such taxes, so this represents a near doubling. Of the 30 local governments planning to introduce the tax, 26 have already established ordinances and received approval from the central government’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

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The first local governments to begin collecting the new accommodation tax will be Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai City, starting on January 13. Guests staying at hotels in Sendai City will need to pay an additional total accommodation tax of 300 yen (approximately 2,770 KRW): 100 yen (about 920 KRW) as a prefectural tax to Miyagi Prefecture and 200 yen (about 1,850 KRW) as a municipal tax to Sendai City.

In April, Hokkaido will introduce an accommodation tax of up to 500 yen (about 4,620 KRW), and 13 municipalities under its jurisdiction, including Sapporo City, will also begin imposing the tax. Hiroshima Prefecture and Kanagawa Prefecture will introduce accommodation taxes in the same month. In June, Nagano Prefecture and municipalities under its jurisdiction, such as Karuizawa Town, will begin taxation. Miyazaki City and Okinawa Prefecture are also scheduled to introduce the tax this year, but have not yet completed the approval process with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Local governments that have already implemented accommodation taxes are moving to increase them.

In March, Kyoto City will raise its accommodation tax from the current maximum of 1,000 yen (about 9,250 KRW) to a maximum of 10,000 yen (about 92,500 KRW). Kutchan Town in Hokkaido, known for its ski resorts, will increase its accommodation tax rate from 2% to 3% starting in April. Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to change its accommodation tax, currently set at 100 to 200 yen, to a flat 3% rate from next year, effectively increasing the tax.

Separately, in response to the issue of “overtourism” caused by a surge in tourists, the Japanese government plans to triple the “International Tourist Tax” charged upon departure from Japan from the current 1,000 yen per person to 3,000 yen (about 27,750 KRW) starting in July. This will apply to all passengers departing from Japan, regardless of nationality.