Japan considers tripling departure tax to 3,000 yen to fund overtourism measures

Japan's government and ruling coalition are discussing plans to triple the international tourist departure tax from the current 1,000 yen to approximately 3,000 yen per person to address overtourism challenges.

The tax revenue, which reached a record 52.48 billion yen in fiscal 2024, would fund measures to combat overcrowding, traffic congestion and improper behavior at popular tourist sites. Proposed solutions include AI-powered crowd management systems and parking reservation implementations.

The potential increase has raised concerns about impacting both international visitors and Japanese citizens traveling abroad. Some government proposals suggest using portion of the additional revenue to subsidize passport application fees for Japanese nationals, potentially reducing the current 15,900 yen cost for 10-year passports.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had advocated for the tax hike during her party leadership campaign in September, emphasizing the need to address overtourism issues. During a recent ministerial meeting on foreign visitor policies, she called for expanding tax revenue while considering the impact on Japanese travelers.