Final Fantasy 14 Rewards Japanese Players for Paying Their Real-Life Taxes With a Giant Dog

Final Fantasy 14 players successful Japan present person the accidental to get in-game cosmetics and items by paying their existent beingness taxes, arsenic reported by Famitsu. These rewards see the online MMORPG’s Megashiba Mount.

Japan has a Hometown taxation inaugural (Furusato Nozei), which allows radical to redirect portions of their residence taxation to different areas of the country, adjacent if they don’t unrecorded there. In return, you tin take a peculiar acquisition from the portion (everything from section snacks and accepted handcrafted items, to edifice stays and section taste experiences). The strategy launched backmost successful 2008 with the purpose of directing taxation funds backmost to rural, less-populated areas, but present astir each municipality successful the state offers immoderate benignant of reward via the scheme. It’s a win-win arsenic section governments person much funds, portion taxpayers person presents successful speech for taxation wealth they would person had to fork retired anyway.

In caller years, immoderate areas person started offering integer rewards. For example, past twelvemonth Shibuya ward offered in-game currency successful the fashionable mobile games Monster Strike and Kotodaman (as reported by Automaton).

Now, Shibuya ward and Square Enix person teamed up to connection rewards for the online MMORPG Final Fantasy 14. As the peculiar tract shows, players successful Japan tin take betwixt six antithetic sets of in-game items and cosmetics to acquisition with their residence tax. Namely, 3 costume sets priced astatine 7,000 yen (approx. $43) each: the Majitek Attire, Collegiate Attire (Skirt), and Collegiate Attire (Slacks) sets), 4 creation emotes for 11,000 yen (approx. $68), a acceptable of 5 Phials of Fantasia for 17,000 yen (approx. $105), and the Megashiba Mount for 9,000 yen (approx. $56).

Final Fantasy 14 players extracurricular Japan needn’t consciousness excessively near retired though, arsenic these items tin beryllium purchased from the Final Fantasy 14 online store.

The Hachiko statue successful the Shibuya territory of Tokyo, Japan. Photographer: Kentaro Takahashi/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Some of the Final Fantasy 14 rewards connected connection sync up nicely with this country of Tokyo. The Megashiba equine is simply a giant, rideable dog. Shibuya is celebrated for Hachiko, a canine who loyally waited for his proprietor extracurricular of Shibuya Station, adjacent aft his maestro passed away. There is simply a statue dedicated to the diligent pup extracurricular the station, and the existent communicative has inspired a mates of movie adaptations, including Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, starring Richard Gere.

Although Hachiko was a antithetic Japanese canine breed (an Akita alternatively than a Shiba Inu), it seems apt that Shibuya Ward and Square Enix decided to see the Megashiba Mount successful the Hometown taxation strategy arsenic a notation to Shibuya’s celebrated dog. The Collegiate Attire Costumes besides mesh good with Shibuya, arsenic with its manner stores, unrecorded euphony venues, cafes and nighttime clubs it’s known arsenic an country for younker culture.

Image credit: Square Enix.

Verity Townsend is simply a Japan-based freelance writer who antecedently served arsenic editor, contributor and translator for the crippled quality tract Automaton West. She has besides written astir Japanese civilization and movies for assorted publications.