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August 01, 2025
 

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MINPAKU

An undated photo supplied by a resident of an apartment complex in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward shows people who appear to be staff members offering illegal private lodging services. Their faces are blurred for privacy reasons.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025
Around 250 takedown requests made in fiscal 2024 over illegal private lodgings
Operators of private lodgings must notify prefectural governments of their businesses, ensure sanitary conditions and handle complaints.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2023
Deep in the countryside, a glimpse of Airbnb's Japan strategy
The short-term lodging service is seeking to build links with communities outside of well-beaten tourist pathways and entice travelers to rural areas.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Oct 4, 2020
Private renters in Sapporo launch domestic travel campaign as global travel stalls
In the six months to August, 709 minpaku properties closed down in Sapporo, their number down to around 80 percent of their peak.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Feb 17, 2020
Bureaucrats are to blame for copy-happy hotel clerks
With data privacy being a huge issue, you may feel uneasy about hotels photocopying your passport. However, Colin P.A. Jones says the rule is more about bureaucratic culture than privacy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2020
Marriott has no plans to offer private lodging service in Japan
Marriott International Inc. has no plans to operate a private lodging service in Japan for the time being due to strict regulations, Rajeev Menon, a senior official of the U.S. hotel chain, said in a recent interview.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2019
Airbnb listings in Japan rebound after regulatory freeze
Airbnb Inc. says it's back in business in Japan, a year after stricter short-term lodging regulations forced it to freeze a major portion of its listings in the country.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Apr 17, 2019
Know your rights when checking in at an Airbnb
Last year, the government passed a law covering minpaku, which is when people rent out space on their properties to travelers (a la Airbnb). The law is part of an effort to regulate accommodations amid a tourism boom ahead of the 2020 Olympics.
BUSINESS
Jan 1, 2019
Top business news of 2018
The Japan Times newsroom selected the following business news stories as the most important of 2018.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 26, 2018
Citing G20 security issues, Osaka shuts down over 80% of private lodging operations
Between June and September, over 80 percent of Osaka minpaku private lodgings have been ordered closed by the city, Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura said earlier this month.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jul 13, 2018
Large percentage of private lodgings in Okinawa vanish after new minpaku law takes effect
With its abundant, pristine beaches and renowned cultural and historic sites, it's little surprise that Okinawa Prefecture became a hot market for minpaku (private lodging) services.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 27, 2018
Minpaku law could leave tourists to Japan without beds
Onerous licensing process for private lodging won't stop bad operators, but it will put off honest would-be entrepreneurs.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2018
Kyoto ramps up crackdown on illegal P2P lodging after sluggish start to minpaku law
Police and city officials on Monday agreed to increase closures of illegal private lodging facilities just 10 days after a new national law restricting their operation took effect.
EDITORIALS
Jun 20, 2018
Review 'minpaku' regulations to spur growth
The government should ensure that regulations don't hamper the growth of the minpaku industry, which is contributing ot the sharp increase in inbound tourism.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 14, 2018
Airbnb offers new services day before minpaku law kicks in
A day before a new law on minpaku (private lodging services) takes effect, Airbnb Inc. on Thursday welcomed the change and reinforced its commitment to the Japanese market with fresh initiatives.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2018
Airbnb users face summer crunch as Japan seeks delisting of unlicensed lodgings
Last Friday, the Japan Tourism Agency announced that private lodging service websites would have to remove properties without licensing as soon as possible.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 6, 2018
Airbnb drops nearly 80 percent of its private home listings ahead of new peer-to-peer rental law
Just over a week before a new law for minpaku goes into effect, rental website Airbnb has dropped nearly 80 percent of its listings for the services in three months.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 12, 2018
Canadian gets second Japanese arrest warrant in alleged minpaku drug-smuggling cases
A fresh arrest warrant has been served to a Canadian man for allegedly smuggling stimulants into Japan by sending them to a minpaku (private lodging service) facility in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2018
In Japan, new rules may leave short-term lodging industry out in the cold
Japan's new law on short-term lodging services was meant to ease a shortage of hotel rooms, bring order to an unregulated market, and offer more options for foreign visitors ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Apr 1, 2018
New minpaku law will alter Japan's rental and hospitality landscape
A new law will go into effect in June to regulate minpaku, private residences rented out by their owners as short-term lodgings. To most, the new law will address changes that have occurred in recent years due to the rise of Airbnb, the worldwide online service that allows travelers to book rooms in...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2018
Foreign tourists set new record for hotel stays in Kyoto, with most visiting from China
A survey of 36 major Kyoto city hotels showed that foreigners accounted for 40.5 percent of their total guests in 2017, the highest figure recorded since the survey began in 2014.
Japan on edge but prepared for tsunami after huge Kamchatka earthquake
Police officers ask a man to evacuate from an empty beach following a tsunami warning, in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
Last soldiers of Imperial Japanese Army have a warning for younger generations
Kunshiro Kiyozumi, 97, who was the youngest crew member of the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 in World War II, on his way to a restaurant to have lunch in Matsuyama, Japan, on April 29.
80 years on, former teacher conveys history of hidden island in World War II
Masayuki Yamauchi explains about the history of Okunoshima, an island in Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture, to junior high school students visiting in May.
Japan to start new residency system for foreign workers
Students hoping to work in Japan attend a Japanese class at a job placement company in Hanoi in October 2022.
Japan marks highest-ever temperature of 41.2 C in Hyogo
Japan's temperature soared to a record 41.2 degrees Celsius in Tanba, Hyogo Prefecture, on Wednesday, surpassing the previous high of 41.1 C.
Artist Chiharu Shiota weaves a hidden marvel on Teshima
“Memory of Lines” is Chiharu Shiota’s second art installation on Teshima as part of the Setouchi Triennale.
How the Japanese TV industry is changing
Fuji TV headquarters in Tokyo's Minato Ward. Fuji TV came under fire over the manner in which it handled a case of “sexual trouble” involving former boy band member Masahiro Nakai and a female announcer.
Last soldiers of Imperial Japanese Army have a warning for younger generations
Kunshiro Kiyozumi, 97, who was the youngest crew member of the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-58 in World War II, on his way to a restaurant to have lunch in Matsuyama, Japan, on April 29.
Why Ishiba refuses to quit even amid intense pressure for him to go
Supporters of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba take part in a rally across the street from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
Behind the scenes at the Baseball Hall of Fame's new Yakyu/Baseball exhibit
“Yakyu / Baseball: The Transpacific Exchange of the Game” is set to remain on display in Cooperstown for at least five to 10 years — and possibly indefinitely.

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