Japan tripled its departure tax to fix overtourism. The money went to bear control instead.

Japan tripled its departure tax last month, promising to use the extra revenue to improve tourist destinations strained by overtourism. Reports now show the money is going elsewhere — toward bear-control programs and cherry tree pest management.

The Asahi Shimbun reported Monday that Japan's "international tourist passenger tax," raised to address pollution at tourist sites caused by overtourism, is being spent in ways that diverge from its original purpose.

The departure tax is collected from anyone leaving Japan and is added to the price of international airline or ferry tickets. Japan raised the levy from 1,000 yen to 3,000 yen ($19) on July 1.

At the time, the government said the additional revenue from the increase would fund improvements to tourist sites across the country — specifically to address the strain of overtourism and upgrade tourism infrastructure.

The tax hike is expected to generate 81 billion yen more in revenue this year than last year. To offset criticism that the increase would raise the cost of international travel for Japanese citizens, the government also cut passport issuance fees. Even after accounting for that reduction, the net increase in tax revenue is projected to reach 64.6 billion yen.

The Asahi Shimbun said the connection between how that 64.6 billion yen is being spent and actual tourists is questionable. Among the allocations is funding for bear-related countermeasures, including trapping and ecological surveys. Bears have been encroaching on residential areas in Japan since last year, emerging as a serious social problem. Of the 6.2 billion yen budgeted for bear-damage prevention, 6 billion yen is being covered by the departure tax increase.

The entire 600 million yen newly allocated for cherry tree pest control will also be drawn from the departure tax proceeds. Additional spending charged to the tax increase includes 130 million yen for design work on a national cultural heritage restoration center, 170 million yen for development of a national media arts center, and 62 million yen for design of an exhibition facility for the Takamatsu-zuka burial mound murals.

"While there are cases where foreigners are harmed by bear encounters, the impact on daily life is more serious than the impact on tourist sites," the Asahi said. The paper added that damage caused by the Japanese pine sawyer beetle — which gnaws on and kills cherry trees — also "appears to have no connection to inbound tourists."

A Finance Ministry official told the Asahi that the departure tax funds were being redirected to cover domestic needs because the government had moved ahead with policies — including free education initiatives and the abolition of the provisional gasoline tax rate — without securing dedicated funding sources. In effect, a tax paid primarily by foreign tourists is being tapped to solve Japan's own domestic fiscal problems.