policy
Voters will decide in November whether to redirect portions of the city's tourism tax revenue, which currently supports services used daily by residents in central and northern wards.
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The Osaka City Council placed a referendum on the November 2026 ballot that would alter allocation rules for tourism tax revenue collected from hotels and visitor facilities across all 24 wards.
City budget documents show the tax generated 48 billion yen in the most recent fiscal year, with proceeds now directed primarily to central tourism promotion under existing ordinances. The measure would require at least 30 percent of future collections to support local infrastructure projects chosen by each ward assembly.
Policy analysts at Osaka-based research institutes note that the change would tie tax distributions more closely to visitor volume recorded in each ward, rather than a citywide formula. Community advocates in residential neighborhoods have pointed out that current spending patterns leave outer wards with limited shares despite hosting many workers who commute into tourist zones.
For residents in Tennoji, passage would mean ward officials could apply new funds to maintenance of parks near the station and to bus routes serving schools. In Yodogawa, the same rules could direct money toward flood-control upgrades along the river that borders several housing estates.
The government projects that ward-level project lists would be published within 90 days after the vote if the measure passes. Election officials have scheduled information sessions at community centers in each ward during August and September to explain the current distribution and the proposed shift.
Ballots will ask voters to approve or reject the reallocation formula, with results binding on the city budget process beginning in April 2027.
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Published by The Daily Osaka
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