Tsuruta Chamber of Commerce in Japan has broadened access to its premium shopping vouchers, allowing people living outside the town and customers who bought in the first sale to purchase additional booklets. Its September 15 announcement removed advance applications for the additional sale starting October 1. [S01]

The new terms permit repeated purchases during the sale period, with a limit of ten booklets per transaction. Buyers pay in cash at the chamber office. The change replaces the original allocation process, which required applications between July 16 and August 9 and limited purchases to ¥50,000 per household. Initial sales took place from September 6 to September 10. [S01][S02]

The voucher economics remain unchanged: a ¥10,000 purchase provides ¥12,000 in spending value, a 20% premium. Each booklet contains twelve ¥1,000 vouchers, divided into eight usable across all participating stores and four designated for local stores. The September notice changes access and purchase limits rather than introducing a higher premium. [S01][S02]

The data behind the story

Tsuruta keeps two spending pools inside each booklet

The September additional-sale notice retains twelve JPY1,000 vouchers per JPY10,000 booklet: eight common vouchers and four local-store vouchers.

JPY
Source
Original issuer or researcher evidence

Published booklet composition, not merchant sales, redemption or new issuance volume. Values are eight and four vouchers multiplied by JPY1,000. The components add to JPY12,000 but have different acceptance rules. The new ten-booklet ceiling is per transaction and must not be compared as the same denominator as the old household ceiling.

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Tsuruta keeps two spending pools inside each booklet (JPY)
CategoryFace value per booklet
All participating stores8,000 JPY
Designated local stores4,000 JPY

Aomori Prefecture’s programme directory describes the first Tsuruta sale as restricted to town residents. The chamber’s later notice expressly includes people living outside Tsuruta and says customers from the September sale can buy again. It does not announce a new issuance volume or identify how many booklets remain available. [S01][S03]

Additional sales run at the chamber office on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays, and end when stock is exhausted. Vouchers remain valid through January 15, 2027. The municipal information page says unused vouchers cannot be refunded or exchanged after that deadline. [S01][S04]

The original July announcement presented the scheme as support for residents and local businesses facing higher prices. The revised distribution terms widen the potential customer pool for participating merchants while retaining the same split between general and local-store spending value. Neither the issuer notice nor the municipal page reports sales or redemption results. [S01][S02][S04]