TOKYO -- More Japanese municipalities look to introduce a tax on visitor stays at hotels and traditional ryokan inns, seeking to tap the growing number of foreign tourists.
These accommodation taxes first appeared in large metropolitan areas. Tokyo adopted one in 2002, followed by Osaka Prefecture in 2017 and the city of Kyoto last year. Kyoto anticipates annual revenue of 4.5 billion yen ($42.7 million) from the tax, which typically is used for purposes such as building tourism infrastructure and providing information to visitors.
