I’ve got to admit that some of my most enjoyable travels over the past few years have been when I visited Japan.
However, it was always a place to double or treble my spending budget when I travelled.
Well, you’re going to need to budget a bit more with Japan imposing a new departure tax.
The Shibuya Scramble Crossing – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
The departure tax – valued at ¥1000 per passenger – has been imposed by the Japan National Tax Agency. According to the agency – the tax will be used for:
- Create a more comfortable, stress-free tourist environment
- Improve access to information about a wide variety of attractions of Japan
- Develop tourist resources taking advantage of the unique cultural and natural assets of respective regions
The departure tax went into effect on the 7th January 2019. Expect the tax to be added to your airfare ticket. For those who keep an eye on codes on tickets, its coded as TK as this screengrab shows
A trip to Japan fare – Note the Japan International Tourist Tax (TK) at £7.20 (¥1000 equivalent at the time of writing), Data: ITA Matrix.
There are exceptions – the main ones being
- Passengers under the age of 2
- Transit passengers who leave Japan within 24 hours after entry
- Passengers who planned to travel between third countries but happened to stop by Japan due to emergency condition such as inclement weather
- Passengers who planned to depart for a foreign country but happened to return to Japan due to emergency condition such as inclement weather
A full breakdown and Q&A can be found at http://www.nta.go.jp/english/taxes/indirect/tourist_tax.htm
Life, Death, Travel and Departure Taxes
Let’s be honest – adding a tax on for development, environment, or just for the hell of it always happens in aviation (although there are countries like the United Kingdom who take it that bit too far with Air Passenger Duty).
For the majority of passengers, this won’t be a tax that is easy to avoid (apart from spending less than 24 hours in Japan) – so this will be another cost to put onto your ticket.
At least the tax will be in-built into your ticket, rather than you being asked to pay at the airport on departure.
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