Japan’s International Tourist Tax (commonly known as the Sayonara Tax) has tripled. Official guidance from the Japan Tourism Agency (MLIT) and the National Tax Agency (NTA) outlines the specifics of the increase, its purpose and its impact on travellers. Beginning this July, everyone departing Japan (foreign tourists and Japanese nationals) will have to pay ¥3,000 per departure.

Previously, this move came into effect in 2019, when the fees was ¥1,000 per departure. Japan experienced unprecedented tourism growth —welcoming over 42 million international visitors in 2025 alone — which heavily strained local infrastructure and popular tourist hubs.

The Ministry of Finance expects annual tax revenue from this levy to jump from approximately ¥50 billion to ¥120 billion. According to the official MLIT allocation framework, the additional revenue is dedicated to funding crowd management systems at hotspots. Installing walk-through facial recognition gates, self-service bag drops and expanding multilingual assistance to reduce wait times at major airports. Promoting lesser-known rural destinations and restoring historical cultural sites outside the saturated Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka corridor.

You do not need to stand in line or pay anything separately at the airport or seaport. Airlines and cruise operators collect the fee automatically by adding it directly to your outbound ticket price when you book. The fee is charged per exit. A single round-trip ticket to Japan incurs the tax once when departing the country. Children under 2 years of age, transit passengers departing Japan within 24 hours of arrival and flight crew and ship personnel are exempt from paying the tax.

While ¥3,000 is a relatively small fee for an individual traveller, keep in mind that local municipal accommodation taxes (such as lodging taxes in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto) have also increased, making overall fixed travel taxes a factor to account for in your total budget.

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