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Yomiuri Shimbun file photo Tourists walk on stairs leading to a temple in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
15:17 JST, January 7, 2025
The Kyoto municipal government is set to raise the maximum level of the Accommodation Tax it levies on hotel and ryokan inn guests to ¥10,000 per person per night, according to sources. The tax currently ranges from ¥200 to ¥1,000 per person per night.
The proposed amendment to the relevant ordinance is expected to be submitted to the February meeting of the Kyoto municipal assembly at the earliest, and if approved will go into effect in 2026.
Since October 2018, the city has imposed a tax of ¥200 per person per night for stays costing up to ¥19,999 per person per night; ¥500 for stays costing between ¥20,000 and ¥49,999 per person per night; and ¥1,000 for stays of ¥50,000 or more per person per night. The number of foreign guests staying in the city has been increasing rapidly since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and tax revenue in fiscal 2023 reached a record high of ¥5.2 billion. Mayor Koji Matsui, who took office last February, had pledged in his election campaign to raise the tax to enable the city improve its environment for welcoming tourists.
The new upper limit of ¥10,000 would be the highest flat-rate accommodation tax in Japan and apply to stays costing ¥100,000 or more per night. ¥200 would remain the minimum, but would only apply to stays costing up to ¥4,999 per night. In order to keep the burden fair, the three existing levels would be further divided into five. Revenue from the tax after the increase is projected to be more than ¥10 billion, double what it is currently.
According to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, 11 municipalities, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Kanazawa municipal government, have introduced accommodation taxes, which is a kind of “non-statutory purpose tax.” The Atami city government in Shizuoka Prefecture and Akaigawa Village government in Hokkaido are also preparing to implement such taxes.
