KidZania Tokyo, an entertainment center in Koto Ward where children can role-play various jobs, launched a new weeklong attraction Wednesday to give kids experience paying taxes, ahead of the Thursday start of income report filing for fiscal 2011.
On Wednesday, children who visited KidZania paid "taxes" at the "tax office pavilion" from the "income" they earned from role-playing jobs that included doctors, firefighters and newspaper reporters.
After the pavilion staff explained that taxes are used to fund police, firefighters and education, the children filled out income declaration forms and received tax refunds.
"I didn't know about tax refunds, so it was good to learn about them. Tax is used in various areas, and I think it's very important," said Tsukushi Ito, 11, a sixth-grade student at Toyosu Kita Elementary School who was visiting KidZania with his class.
The tax office pavilion at KidZania is operated by an association of Tokyo companies that promotes paying taxes.
"We want children to understand the importance of taxes, and also for their parents to understand the importance of income tax reports," the association said.
The period for filing income tax reports ends March 15.