Unlike some countries, Japan famously has no tipping culture. Could that change? A new report says at least a few stores are starting to set out donation tins for confused tourists. And tipping lines on electronic point-of-sale systems are showing up more frequently.
Is this a good thing? Or should Japan nip it in the bud before it gets out of control?
Break out the tip jars?
Confusion over tipping runs in both directions. I remember when I was in the United States, my Japanese work colleagues were confused that they couldn’t flag down a random server at a restaurant. We had to find our server who was assigned to our table because her tip would be based on her performance. By contrast, in Japan, finding the closest available wait staff is just how things are done.
Similarly, when some foreign visitors come to Japan, some of them can’t get over the lack of tipping. Japan’s FNN Prime Online captured some of this confusion in a recent news segment. When they do offer a tip, servers actively refuse it. To the travelers, it feels odd not to give someone extra money for exceptional service.
In response, some stores across the country are putting out tip jars because…well, why not? FNN highlighted two stores in Kyoto identified by a social media user. One of the pictures shows a bar with a jar for tips and a note that the owner is trying to save “to start a micro brewery.”
Two stores hardly make for a trend, of course. However, it adds a new dimension to the debate around tourist pricing. Some have argued that more stores and attractions in Japan should implement two-tier pricing systems to keep things affordable for locals while still allowing businesses to cash in on the weak yen and Japan’s tourism boom.
Tips are showing up on taxi apps, elsewhere
There’s one place where tipping could gradually become more acceptable, however: taxis.
According to the site Web Cartop, tipping taxi drivers in Japan used to happen regularly, particularly during the country’s lucrative bubble era in the 1980s and ’90s. These days, more taxi services are using touch panel displays for payment that include tipping as part of their software.
Does this mean we can expect to see more tipping in Japan? Anything can happen, but I don’t see it as very likely. The majority of Japan’s tourists come from other Asian countries – particularly South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan – that also don’t have strong tipping cultures. At the same time, the steady rise of US tourists to Japan (the country just surpassed Hong Kong for the number four spot last year) could change the balance of that equation.
Additionally, while many people may be used to tipping, that doesn’t mean they like it. A recent survey from WalletHub shows that nine out of 10 Americans feel tipping has gotten out of control. That’s up from 75% in the previous year’s survey. Three out of every five survey respondents think businesses use tipping as a scummy excuse not to pay workers what they’re worth.
While I personally hate tipping culture, most Japanese hourly workers are criminally underpaid. Japan’s government and service industry businesses need to do more to ensure those doing the hard labor of entertaining the country’s visitors can make a living wage.
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Sources
日本は基本不要の「チップ」！ いまアプリの普及でタクシー業界に「チップ文化」が浸透し始めていた. Web Cartop
Americans Believe Tipping Has Gone Haywire, According To A New Survey. Forbes
Tipping tips for your next holiday. John Lewis Finance
