Travelers Will Now Have to Pay a $9 ‘Sayonara Tax’ When Leaving Japan

Those who are planning to travel to Japan might need to save up a little change before leaving the country as the government officially implemented a departure tax earlier this week.

The new law, which is being dubbed as “Sayonara Tax,” was put into effect on Monday, January 7, according to Yahoo News. Visitors in Japan will now have to pay 1,000 yen ($9) when they leave the country.

This tax applies not only to foreign travelers in the country, but to Japanese travelers who will leave Japan either via plane or ship. However, children under 2 years old and those who were only in Japan for less than 24 hours are reportedly exempted from the departure tax law.

The sayonara tax, which was passed by the Japanese parliament on April 11, was implemented in anticipation with the expected surge of visitors that will attend the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. With this, the government is expecting to see an increase of revenue from the tax that is said to hit 6 billion yen ($55.4 million) in fiscal 2018 through March 2019 and 50 billion yen ($461.6 billion) in fiscal 2019, Japan Times reported.

“Japan wanted money to pay for technology terminals to process visitors quicker and to add improved international language signage throughout the country,” World Travel & Tourism Council Research Director Rochelle Turner said while speaking to Yahoo Finance.

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