Sayonara Tax – Now you will have to pay to leave Japan

Tourists may be forced to pay a “Sayonara Tax” when leaving Japan.

The new tax has a purpose. To raise money for the Japan Tourism Agency to strengthen its public relations campaigns abroad and expand multilingual services in Japan. The exit tax will be a proposal on the table to help the government reach its goal of attracting 40 million foreign tourists by 2020.

In 2016, Japan saw the number of foreign arrivals exceed 24 million, a 20% increase compared to the previous year. However, it is proving to be a huge challenge to reach the 2020 target.

The agency argues that it will need to elevate Japan’s global profile to attract more visitors. Therefore, the proposed tax will provide funds to enable this. Obviously, this type of tax will certainly attract criticism from tourists and the aviation industry.

How is this “Sayonara Tax” being charged?

The tax will be charged to both Japanese and foreigners. Anyone leaving Japan. However, a boarding fee may only be charged to foreign visitors, as their numbers have increased in recent years.

In contrast, the number of Japanese travelers abroad has stagnated due to terrorist attacks in Europe and elsewhere. Not to mention the depreciation of the yen, which hasn’t helped.

The Japan Tourism Agency says a wide range of measures must be implemented to reach the 2020 target. This includes holding more public relations events abroad and offering services in multiple languages in Japan.

The initial budget request related to tourism for the fiscal year 2018 was 24.7 billion yen. An increase of 17% compared to 2017.

Suppose foreigners and Japanese were each charged 1,000 yen in tax when leaving Japan. Eventually, this would bring about 40 billion yen to the national coffers. In 2016, about 17 million Japanese left the country.

However, major Japanese airports are already collecting between 1,000 yen and 3,000 yen in tax per passenger on international flights.

Moreover, in addition to the expected negative reception from tourism-related industries, skeptics say there is no guarantee that expanded public relations campaigns abroad and multilingual services will ensure a sharp increase in foreign tourists to Japan.

And you, dear reader? What do you think? Should Japan charge any tourist leaving Japan? Leave your opinion in the comments.

• Japan’s debt – Is the country at risk?
• How to live in Japan without being of Japanese descent?
• Are Japanese people polite or fake?