I typically don't do a lot of business in Tokyo but have increasingly done so of late. I've noticed in a few cabs only in Tokyo a money tray placed on the center seat console with a few coins in it.
I personally have no issue rounding up and then some up as that has to be a tough way to scratch out a living - ok not as tough as the women that work in those caged sized booths on the street selling tickets but I digress....
Is this a somewhat new thing? Is encouraging the tipping culture like this in Japan more harmful than just helping an individual make a living.... thoughts?

If you're seeing what I think you're seeing, it's not new. The tray is for you to put your fare on and pick up your change from. It's got dimples to make it easy to pick up coins. It's not an invitation to tip.

The CEO of one company that I worked for was in the habit of telling drivers to "keep the change". I think it's quite rare to do that. He was a bit of a maverick.

If there are coins in the tray, it's only to have some on hand to make change quickly.

There is no tipping in taxis in Japan.

There is no tipping in taxis in Japan.

Tipping isn't expected, or widespread, but people do leave small tips sometimes, and drivers are happy to receive them.

(As opposed to say, in a restaurant, where leaving a tip is outright rude.)

This might explain why some Japanese taxi drivers don't help load and unload suitcases.

I cant speak for them all, but I've never encounter such a driver myself.

If I have a suitcase taxi drivers always help me and I always tip them by rounding up the fare or by adding about 200 yen (for a ride of 1500 yen).

They always help us load and unload our suitcases. Heck, many times, they first ask permission to touch your luggage and request we DO NOT LOAD the suitcases because the way they load it is better than how I would load it.

I often tip because if the fare is close to a near 1000 but just because I'm too lazy to deal with the change, but it's a bad thing. You should never tip in Japan.

O-Sora sama, were you posting from a different dimension? Even the taxi drivers in Osaka help with luggage !

I am with O-Sora on this one. I really hate Japanese taxis. The drivers are clueless and 100% dependent on GPS, and they annoy me when I am driving. They are also mostly driving around empty. Lower the prices and you might get some customers! I am digressing....

The few times I have taken a taxi with luggage from around Shibuya station then they will just pop the trunk. I am pretty sure 100% of the time. Also when I get to my house they just pop the trunk.

It could be different if they are at an official cab rank. I am hailing them off the street. Upon arrival there is no such excuse.

p.s. O-sora, as a native, will they listen to you if you give them exact turn by turn instructions? I do it in Japanese, but figure that they don't trust me as a gaijin. Instead they will fiddle with their GPS for 5 minutes. Only once did he follow my instructions; the GPS does not necessarily give the best route.

I'm not O Sora but if I may add my 2 yen...

Most of my taxi rides are between a JR station in the western suburbs of Tokyo and my mother's house. I tell them the destination is to the north of a large danchi every local taxi driver should know. There are two or three routes they can take and some of them ask which way I want them to go. When we get close to the destination there's no way they can find the place unless I give them turn by turn instructions.

On the way to the JR station I leave them to choose the route but tell them exactly where I want to be dropped (in front of a pachinko parlor and not at the taxi rank) so I don't have to go up steps to enter the station.

Are you Japanese?

The average cab driver serving Shibuyaeki might be different (and less helpful) than one out in XXXXX. I also think that they have no clue about the local area and would be helpless without GPS; i.e. they are not local cab drivers. Many of them around Shibuyaeki have Nerima or Adachi, or even Tama license plates.

The provenance of the driver can be even further away. I often inquire where the driver is from - The ones who are completely reliant on GPS often tell me "Oh. I just got here from Kagoshima last week". The ones who don't want to say are often from China.

That's one more reason to favor kojin taxi. Because of the time they've spent just to get a kojin license, it's a sure thing that they have a knowledge of the major urban areas. For a trip into the 'burbs all bets are off.

GPS might not get the best route - but it can be better than a newbie driver who is "absolutely sure" of the destination. I recall getting into one cab with a fresh faced driver who was delighted that I wanted to go to Nissan HQ. He knew exactly how to get there. "Are you sure?" - "Yes Sure". Some time later, I looked up from my phone and inquired why we seemed to be heading in the wrong direction - Turns out he was taking me to Toyota's Tokyo HQ. Oh dear.

Well, it sure doesn't help that the smaller streets aren't named or even numbered thanks to the weird addressing system. With an address like Anywhere 1-2-3, can you really blame them?

I mean, if it's a famous landmark or hotel, that's another thing. I remember going from Aoyama-1chome to Roppongi Hills and the driver needed his GPS. Not sure why seeing as how it was clearly down the road...