SAPPORO, Dec 28 — The government of Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island renowned for its popularity among tourists, will introduce a lodging tax of up to ¥500 (RM15) per night from April 2026, joining a growing number of prefectures and municipalities across Japan using such revenues to improve infrastructure and transportation amid a tourism boom.
With around 20 local governments in Hokkaido, including the prefectural capital Sapporo, preparing to implement their own accommodation taxes, lodgers at hotels and inns will face double taxation, Kyodo News Agency reported.
According to an ordinance adopted by the Hokkaido assembly in December, visitors to the island will be asked to pay ¥100 per night for a nightly room charge of less than ¥20,000, while ¥200 will be imposed for a charge from ¥20,000 to under ¥50,000. For a room charge per night of ¥50,000 or above, they will be required to pay ¥500.
The imposition of a lodging tax is expected to generate around ¥4.5 billion for the Hokkaido government.
Among the municipalities in Hokkaido, Sapporo will request ¥200 per night for a room charge of less than ¥50,000 and ¥500 for fees exceeding ¥50,000. This would mean a hotel guest with a ¥50,000 room charge would have to pay ¥1,000 in lodging tax.
In Kutchan, where the popular Niseko ski resort is located, a flat rate of 2 per cent of the room charge is collected from visitors.
Starting with Tokyo in 2002, accommodation taxes have already been introduced in Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures, as well as municipalities including Kanazawa and Kyoto. — Bernama-Kyodo
