The Japanese government will begin collecting a departure tax on Monday, under legislation enacted by the Diet last April. All travelers leaving Japan by plane or ship must pay 1,000 yen each. Children under the age of 2 and transit passengers will be exempt.

Revenue collected from the new levy will be allocated to improving infrastructure and services to handle the projected increase in the number of visitors to Japan toward and beyond the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

The government expects 40 million tourists will be coming to Japan annually by 2020. The transport ministry estimates the levy will bring in about 6 billion yen between January and March next year, Kyodo reported, with part of the money going toward the installation of facial recognition gates.

© Japan Today/Kyodo