Japan relaxes tax-free shopping policy for tourists

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Japan relaxed a rule for duty-free shopping in its latest effort to spur spending by foreign visitors from July 1.

Foreign visitors’ purchases are eligible for the tax-free program if the total purchased amount of the consumable and general goods reaches 5,000 Japanese yen (300 yuan).

Before the current rule, tourists had to buy at least 5,000 Japanese yen worth of consumables, such as food and cosmetics, or the same value of general items, such as clothing, to be exempted from paying the country’s eight percent consumption tax.

However, some visitors have complained that they are not sure whether the items they are buying are classified as “consumable” or “general” goods.

Akihiko Tamura, the chief of the Japan’s Tourism Office, said at a regular press conference last week that he hopes foreign tourists find the change to the tax-free program more convenient and therefore decide to spend more in Japan.

The change also aims to increase the number of duty-free stores by reducing the business burden of each shop. As of April 2018, there were about 45,000 duty-free shops across Japan, including about 17,000 outside the metropolitan area. The government hopes to increase the number to 20,000 in 2018.

The total purchase amount spent by foreign tourists in Japan hit a record of 4.4 trillion Japanese yen in 2017 on the back of a rising number of visitors, but there still seems to be a long way to go to achieve the government’s goal of eight trillion Japanese yen in 2020.