Ten years after its introduction, the reconstruction tax continues to play a vital role in rebuilding areas hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011.

The tax was introduced in January 2013 as part of the budget used to pay for reconstruction efforts in the three main prefectures affected by the disaster: Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate.

Levied on individual income taxes with a fixed rate at 2.1% until 2037, it generated approximately ¥400 billion annually in governmental revenues.