Tokyo’s Shibuya region is offering Final Fantasy 14 in-game items for residents who donate their taxes.
The Japanese taxation system includes a policy called the ‘hometown tax’, which was introduced in 2008.
Under the terms of the hometown tax, Japanese citizens can choose to contribute some of their taxes to a regional municipality instead of the central government.
This doesn’t have to be the area where the citizen currently lives – it can be the area where they grew up (hence the ‘hometown tax’ name) or which otherwise holds some significance for them.
In an attempt to convince citizens to choose their area for hometown tax donation, some municipalities offer local gifts in return for their donation.
Tokyo has 23 wards, all of which have their own municipal autonomy, which means each ward also qualifies as an area which can be nominated for the hometown tax.
This year, the Shibuya ward – which is home to the Shibuya Crossing landmark – is offering in-game items for Final Fantasy 14 as a gift for anyone who chooses it as their hometown tax area.
As reported by Famitsu, recipients will get give Phials of Fantasia, the Collegiate Attire costume sets, the Magitek attire, four dance emotes and a Megashiba mount (inspired by the Hachiko statue in Shibuya).
The official site for the gifts notes that taxpayers will get different DLC depending on the amount of money they donate through the hometown tax. The Megashiba mount, for example, is the gift for donating ¥9,000 ($56). According to the Final Fantasy Online Store, the DLC is worth $24.
“Final Fantasy 14 has been deepening its ties with the local community through events held in Shibuya and other initiatives,” reads a statement (via machine translation) from Square Enix, which is headquartered in Shinjuku but has an office in Shibuya.
“Moving forward, as part of its Shibuya-based initiatives, the company will continue to undertake various projects that leverage Shibuya’s unique character as a hub for diverse cultures.”
While hometown tax is generally welcomed in Japan as a way of distributing tax to other regions – allowing those in urban areas to donate to public services in the rural areas where they grew up, for example – the giving of gifts to those donating their hometown tax is a practice that has been criticised by some.
Some claim that the municipalities that offer the best gifts – rather than those most deserving of the funds – are the ones who receive the most hometown tax, while areas that have no speciality hometown products or don’t offer gifts that are appealing enough tend to miss out on donations.
After being ported to PS5 on 2021 and Xbox Series X/S in 2024, Final Fantasy 14 is coming to Switch 2 this August.
