Coming to Japan in 2026? You might want to prep your wallet. Not only is JR East increasing its prices next March, but fees to enter and exit the country are expected to rise sometime next year as well, according to The Nikkei, and significantly so.
The international tourist tax – also called the 'departure tax', because you pay it when you leave the country (it's included in the price of your plane ticket) – is currently ¥1,000, but if brought to international standards like, say, the US's rate of $22.20 (¥3,300), the amount could triple.
Meanwhile, prices for single- and multiple-entry visas are expected to rise from the current rates of around ¥3,000 and ¥6,000, respectively. Exact amounts haven't been decided yet, but again, if brought up to international levels, prices could rise steeply – take for example the UK's £127 (around ¥25,700), Canada's $100 CAD (around ¥10,700) or the Schengen countries' fixed rate of €90 (around ¥15,000) for a single-entry visa.
The decision is mostly an attempt to manage over-tourism, but given that Japan's entry visa prices haven't been updated since 1978 (yikes!), perhaps a price hike was long overdue. Some odd 74 countries don't require short-term visas to enter Japan anyway, so the increase won't affect tourists from those nations, but everyone is required to pay the departure tax (including Japanese nationals).
The government has yet to announce an exact date for the increases. According to foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya, the matter is being 'reviewed very closely', so it's anyone's guess as to when changes will actually happen. In the meantime, keep saving up those yen – you just might need 'em.
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