One thing you quickly notice when walking the streets of Tokyo and Yokohama is the lack of cars from other parts of the world. This is hardly surprising given the additional taxes you have to pay for an import. The import duty is 10%, and then you have to add 20% of the car’s value in VAT. The government also charges a 10% consumption tax, plus a special levy, and finally the registration. That’s how you know somebody is rolling in the money in Japan: If you own an imported car, you’re obviously loaded. The current favorite is the Mercedes-AMG G63, but I also spotted an Alpine A110, which is the last thing you’d expect to see. A French car is the absolute antithesis of everything the Japanese automotive industry stands for.
Â
