While many countries are only now starting to bring in entrance fees and various other tourist taxes in response to rising visitor numbers, Japan has had this type of entrance fee for foreigners coming into the country since 1978.
The 1,000 yen ($6.33 USD) fee that is often dubbed the “sayonara tax” because it is added to the flight or cruise ticket out of Japan has been unchanged since that time but is now set to increase significantly after an overhaul of multiple fees was approved by the Japanese Cabinet earlier in the year.
With the new pricing structure coming into effect on July 1, the tax charged to any foreigner upon exiting the country will triple to 3,000 yen (roughly $18.55 USD). But even steeper fees are coming for those who need a visa to enter the Asian nation.
Japan raises entry taxes and visa fees for entering tourists
The single-entry visa is set to rise from 3,000 to 15,000 yen ($92 USD). The fee for those who want to enter and leave multiple times within a five-year period is set for an even more dramatic five-fold increase from 6,000 yen to 30,000 yen ($186 USD). Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the increase reflects an overdue adjustment for “inflation and current exchange rates.”
Long-term visas and renewal fees for foreigners who have made Japan their long-term home are also set for spikes set on a percentage scale.
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“We made this decision after carefully considering various factors, and we do not anticipate that it will have an immediate impact on inbound tourism,” Motegi added in response to criticism that such increases would drive away tourism particularly from smaller cities that rely upon it.
The Cabinet decision, which allows for current fees to be raised by up to 30 times of the current rates at other points in the future, states that the generated revenue will go toward managing the effects of rising tourist numbers and foreign resident population that reached 4.13 million at the end of 2025.
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These cities in Japan have a separate tourist tax
Individual cities and regions across Japan have also been increasing taxes for arrivals from both abroad and other parts of Japan.
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In April 2026, the Okinawa prefecture began adding a 2% tax to the cost of one’s stay at local hotels or inns with some exceptions for school, religious and several other types of organized tours while Kyoto in southwestern Japan also introduced a nightly hotel tax that goes up to 10,000 yen for those staying in ultra-luxury hotels.
Cities such as Hokkaido in the Sapporo region and specific destinations like Mount Fiji have all hiked different types of entry over the last year; in each case, local authorities justified the increases on the need to protect and repair infrastructure from the impact of rising tourist numbers.
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations called the latest national increase “radical” and one that “would have a serious impact on the livelihood” of both foreigners in Japan and Japanese who work in the tourism industry.
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