Japan to OK sales of duty-free goods in vending machines english.kyodonews.net

KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 13:09 | Lifestyle, All, JapanJapan is set to approve a plan to sell duty-free goods in vending machines to address a manpower shortage to process such sales especially in areas other than big cities, government sources said Monday.
Duty-free items such as cosmetics, character goods and watches will be sold in vending machines providing a tourist's identification can be verified through facial recognition and passport data, the sources said.
With the rising number of foreign visitors to Japan, the government believes resolving the issue of manpower will stimulate tourist consumption.
The envisioned vending machines must be connected to the internet and able to automatically send records of each sale to the country's customs clearance system.
At present, duty-free shops need their staff to verify the identification of customers from overseas.