Japan Imposes "Sayonara Tax" on Leaving Travelers
That shopping trip just got a little more expensive.
Japan recently began imposing a departure tax that forces visitors to pay ¥1,000 JPY (approximately $9 USD) when leaving the country.
Dubbed the “sayonara tax,” the fee applies to all international and Japanese travelers that exit the country via plane or ship. The tax excludes children under two years old and those who are in Japan for less than 24 hours.
In anticipation of the visitor surge expected in 2020 for the Tokyo Olympics, the tax is set to generate ¥50 billion JPY ($464 million USD) by the end of the 2019 fiscal period. The “sayonara tax” was implemented to pay for technology terminals that will speed up immigration processes, install cashless payment terminals for public transportation, and put up improved international language signage across the country.
Beware, that next shopping trip to Tokyo just got a little more expensive.
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