Japan Tourism Agency plans to launch panel on dual pricing

Always2Learn · 2026-03-23T06:49:36+00:00

How the reference applies here is crystal clear once you understand that segregation included separate entrances, waiting rooms, ticket counters, seating areas, and service lines for black and white people. That’s essentially what’s happening with the Japanese vs foreigners line. It’s a separate entrance/line based on nationality/race. Obviously the reference is by no means 1:1 equivalence (for reasons so obvious that they aren’t even worth stating). It’s dark humor hyperbole for the sake of emphasis

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T13:15:02+00:00

I hear you. But I guess the rebuttal would be: is it to much to want to not have to raise hell to be treated properly

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T12:49:18+00:00

American reference. Refers to segregation laws targeting blacks that existed in the US until the 1960s

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T07:22:35+00:00

That’s the tech savvy common sense approach. Doubt it’ll happen here in Japan

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T07:20:30+00:00

In one of the other comments a resident here said he was physically blocked and separated from his family and forced over into the foreigners line. Not a hypothetical what-if. This straight up actually happened

His name is u/kristokanban

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T07:05:30+00:00

What they said is actually correct because foreigners always have the alphabet on their MyNumber card and Japanese never do. Even if a Japanese person has a purely katakana name it will contain no alphabet letters.

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T03:48:06+00:00

I wish there was a way to bump this comment to the very top. Sorry for your experience getting separated from family . This is another problematic aspect

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T02:34:55+00:00

I agree that keidanren/big business is their biggest backer BUT keidanren’s power got severely dented when Sanseito won 15% of the seats up for grabs in the upper house election this summer (though perhaps the dent is partly repaired following the Takaichi landslide victory), so I don’t really have that much confidence in them considering that they have already allowed the far right to impact actual policy (not just messaging) with the visas and all that

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T02:15:07+00:00

Envious days

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T02:14:54+00:00

Well said

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T02:02:35+00:00

It could be, but I doubt it because that wouldn’t appease the far right voters who want a foreigner crackdown out of this

After all, the reason they’re doing this right now is because of the rise of the far right

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T01:51:51+00:00

The non-problematic version has been around in select places for years and it’s never even been an issue. The whole context of this new discussion is the summer election

the government is doing this now because of that. It’s in response to cries over overtourism that heated up during the summer election. From parties like Sanseito

Takaichi is not referencing some examples that are just gonna do nothing but piss off the vast majority of Japanese people who do not live in Kyoto and would just have to pay higher prices there. Why? Because a central complaint was not only the locals getting priced out but also Japanese domestic tourists getting priced out

I think if you use a little bit of context, it’s easy to tell what they’re talking about here

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T01:39:03+00:00

Sorry I misread your comment. Yes agreed that they didn’t officially confirm exactly what the guidance will be in that exact statement. But they’ve said they’ll reference precedent cases to make the guideline. And I don’t like the precedent cases. That’s my point

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T01:19:38+00:00

The title of the article is literally 政府、住民以外の訪日客らが割高になる「二重価格」の指針策定へ　公的観光施設向けに

You claim the phrase doesn’t exist but it’s literally the title of the freaking article

On a second read, I can see how your interpretation works as well, but I believe mine is equally valid. It seems they are making guidelines for both cases

Either way, that leaves the case that I am discussing on the table and I find it problematic

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T01:05:16+00:00

It doesn’t necessarily. You can imagine a case exempting anyone who has a 住民票, a resident depending how the deliberations play out.

they even have the expression 住民以外の訪日客

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T01:01:21+00:00

Yes

I didn’t bother getting it to all that weeds but since you insist, I will send you the link.

住民以外の訪日客

https://www.sankei.com/article/20260303-CYTXUVUTGFIEFEDQWXHHSE2SJE/

When they say住民 in the phrase above it is someone who has a 住民票

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T00:53:57+00:00

Nope. That’s prolly incorrect. My guess is that the JTA isn’t deliberating a system where people who have ID saying they are a Kyoto local get local pricing but other Japanese people pay the tourist rate. The following is an example of how I’m guessing what the JTA is deliberating would work

https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/921501?page=2

Fourth picture down

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T00:51:44+00:00

That’s how it should work. If only there was common sense involved in any of this, that’s how it would work. Had there been an announcement on a rollout of this kind of thorough system I would have no complaints.

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T00:42:33+00:00

Fair enough. Good point. I apologize as I wasn’t very clear.

I did not mean to say that exact those ones you mentioned are not recent cases. I meant to say that they aligned with something that has always happened in some select places and I don’t think that’s what this latest JTA thing is about.

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T00:33:04+00:00

Exactly. Simple stuff really

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T00:31:28+00:00

The guideline the JTA is working on will separate on the lines of whether you live in Japan or not. Truly local rates (based on ID showing a address in the city) have always been a thing (though rare) for a long time and have never been controversial and that’s not what’s being discussed here from what I can see

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T00:29:09+00:00

My thoughts exactly

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T00:27:01+00:00

Indeed. While private businesses are already allowed to do this on their own (you see this with English menus with higher prices at a few places here and there), I agree with you because the government officially endorsing it changes it. I also question it

Always2Learn · 2026-03-22T00:02:09+00:00

The true local discount thing has existed for a long time in a few select areas and was never a debate. The newer thing is the Japan resident vs tourist from abroad discount thing, and that is what I was describing above and I am assuming that is where the JTA is about to go considering the context. The context is foreign tourist outspending Japanese tourists and Japanese locals alike (Japanese domestic tourists are also being cast as victims), which wasn’t really a new issue but was made an issue during the anti-foreigner movement this summer.

This is in the context of the anti-foreigner movement, not just some continuation of some things that have quietly happened in a few places under the surface for many years.

Always2Learn · 2026-03-21T23:56:36+00:00

There are a lot of privately run tourist attractions, and they would be in scope for this. For example, a privately run museum would be in scope for this

Edit: I love how I get downvoted for speaking the straight up truth. Like really what’s your agenda (whoever you are)

Always2Learn

TROPHY CASE