Photo/Illutration Foreign tourists stroll near Lake Kawaguchiko in Fuji-Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

FUJI-KAWAGUCHIKO, Yamanashi Prefecture—Two municipalities at the foot of Mount Fuji plan to introduce an accommodation tax as early as 2026 to improve the local tourism industry and fight overtourism.

“Our town’s main industry is tourism, but tax revenues are expected to decline due to the falling birthrate and aging population,” said Katsuya Shimizu, who heads the policy planning division of Fuji-Kawaguchiko.

“We want to ask guests to pay a non-statutory municipal tax specifically for the tourism sector, and we will use the revenue to offer hospitality and counter overtourism.”

Fuji-Kawaguchiko’s roughly 700 lodging facilities accept at least 2 million overnight visitors a year, the most among the municipalities around Mount Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture, according to the town government and the local tourism association.

The town hosts Lake Kawaguchiko, Lake Motosuko, Lake Saiko and Lake Shojiko, four of the so-called Fuji Five Lakes at the foot of Japan’s tallest peak, which straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures.

Lodging facilities and restaurants have been busy with an influx of foreign tourists in recent years, but many of these buildings are aging and in need of renovations to improve accessibility and other features.

Hideyuki Watanabe, who was elected mayor of Fuji-Kawaguchiko in November, promised to introduce an accommodation tax as part of his campaign.

The town’s annual tourism-related budget, which stands at 540 million yen ($3.5 million), would increase by 200 million yen if 2 million visitors pay 100 yen for the levy.

Town officials plan to study the tax amount and concrete measures to be taken, establish an ordinance and consult with the internal affairs ministry to introduce the tax early in 2026.

Littering and other bad tourist behaviors have become a problem in the town.

For about a year and a half, foreign tourists flocked to take pictures of Mount Fuji that appears sitting on the roof of a convenience store near Kawaguchiko Station on the Fujikyuko Line, blocking vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

The town is installing a black vinyl banner to block the view of Mount Fuji at the site.

The city of Fuji-Yoshida, east of Fuji-Kawaguchiko, also plans to introduce an accommodation tax in fiscal 2026 alongside the neighboring town.

Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi instructed city officials to introduce the accommodation tax after receiving a proposal from the local chamber of commerce and industry in March.

The city, which has about 190 lodging facilities, started research in April.

“We want to work with officials of Fuji-Kawaguchiko toward the introduction so that there will be no difference in the amount between the two taxes,” a senior city official said.

According to the internal affairs ministry, nine local governments, including Tokyo, Kyoto and Fukuoka, have introduced an accommodation tax.

The tax amounts are generally 100 to 200 yen although they differ between 50 yen and 1,000 yen depending on accommodation fees and other factors.

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