Japan’s cabinet on Friday approved the first visa fee increase in nearly half a century, lifting the cost of a single-entry visa from 3,000 yen to 15,000 yen ($90) and a multiple-entry visa from 6,000 yen to 30,000 yen. The new charges take effect for applications filed from 1 July, the foreign ministry confirmed. Officials described the move as a response to inflation and the yen’s prolonged depreciation since the fees were last set in 1978, and they argued it brings Japan closer to levels charged by Group of Seven peers.

The revision follows legislation passed last month that raises the ceiling on a broad range of immigration-related charges. Tokyo intends to channel the additional revenue into processing costs, Japanese-language programmes, and measures against visa overstays—needs underlined by a record 4.13 million foreign residents. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said he does not expect “an immediate impact on inbound tourism”, a view echoed across business and diplomatic circles in Malaysia and Indonesia, where the hike was reported with a focus on the size of the increase rather than visitor deterrence.

Almost simultaneously, Venice’s new mayor Simone Venturini proposed multiplying day-tripper access fees to €30–€50 on the busiest days, up from the current €5–€10 introduced in 2024. The Italian lagoon city, which has already collected fees on 42 days this year and sold roughly 268,000 full-price and 245,000 discounted tickets, is stepping up its fight against mass tourism. Venturini, who helped design the original scheme as tourism councillor, acknowledged the plan must be negotiated with Rome because national legislation caps municipal entry charges. Former mayor Massimo Cacciari labeled the idea “barbarity”, while constitutional lawyer Ludovico Mazzarolli warned it could infringe freedom of movement.

The parallel moves illustrate a pivot by destination governments from promoting visitor numbers to managing them through price. Where Japan is adjusting a national administrative fee that applies to all foreign visa applicants, Venice is targeting day visitors who contribute little to the overnight economy. In both cases, officials frame the increases as a rebalancing of costs long kept artificially low. Critics in Italy see museumisation and social exclusion; supporters in Japan point to the need for a financially sustainable immigration system.

The next milestones are fixed: Japan’s new visa fees apply from 1 July, while Venturini must secure central-government approval before any Venice change can be enacted, with no timetable yet set. Eyes will also turn to other tourism-heavy cities—Barcelona, Amsterdam, Dubrovnik—that have signaled a willingness to use pricing tools but have yet to make similarly sharp upward revisions.