Osaka mulls fee for foreigners, fears overtourism

Japan’s Osaka prefecture is mulling charging foreign tourists staying in the prefecture an “entry fee”, said on Wednesday governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, speaking to reporters. The Japanese metropolis is due in 2030 to open a casino resort, MGM Osaka.

Mr Yoshimura (pictured in a file photo) indicated that the reason for the Osaka prefecture entry fee proposal was concern about ‘overtourism’, amid the general recovery in travel since the Covid-19 pandemic, reported the Japan Times on Thursday.

What was termed an expert panel would finalise in April the proposed entry fee for foreigners, he was cited as saying.

The goal is to introduce such fee in time for the Osaka-Kansai Japan Expo that starts in April 2025, Mr Yoshimura added.

The news outlet said – referring to guidance from the Internal Affairs and Communication Ministry – that currently there was no taxation programme operated by local governments in Japan that specifically targeted foreign nationals, and such a scheme would need approval from the departmental minister.

Osaka is so far the only Japanese community to be granted the right to host a casino resort, with the MGM Osaka project presently expected to launch in 2030, with an initial cost of JPY1.27 trillion (US$8.58 billion, currently).

The Japan Times reported that Osaka currently imposes an accommodation tax of JPY100 to JPY300 on domestic and international guests staying in accommodation costing JPY7,000 or more per night.

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