Minpaku Lodging Services Make Slow Start under Strict Rules

June 15, 2018

Tokyo- A new law to allow "minpaku" private lodging services widely in Japan came into force on Friday, with service notifications getting off to a sluggish start chiefly due to local government regulations to prevent harm to the living environment of local residents.

Under the law, owners of unused rooms of private houses and condominiums can offer them for use by travelers with a stay limit of 180 days annually after filing notifications with municipalities as service operators.

The law is aimed at meeting growing accommodation demand from foreign visitors, expected to increase steeply in number in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, as well as offering appropriate minpaku lodging services widely by introducing regulations to curb rampant unauthorized services.

Minpaku services have already been available with approval under the Inns and Hotels Act, but regulators are concerned over unauthorized minpaku activities and complaints from residents near minpaku facilities concerning noise by service users.

To address such problems, the new law adopted tighter regulations such as a requirement to put up signs as minpaku operators. Also, municipalities can establish ordinances to impose additional regulations on operation areas and periods.

The stricter rules, however, have discouraged many room owners from notifying local governments of the availability of minpaku accommodations.

Municipalities started receiving notifications of minpaku services in March and their number stood at only 2,707 as of June 8, according to the Japan Tourism Agency, against the estimated total of several tens of thousands of minpaku properties.

At a press conference on Friday, Japanese tourism minister Keichi Ishii said, "I want to work with related institutions to promote notifications and increase legal minpaku lodgings."

In the western Japan city of Kyoto, a popular destination for foreign visitors, the municipality has stipulated its own rules under an ordinance in order to combat a number of unauthorized minpaku operators. As of Thursday, only 22 notifications had been filed with the city.

On Friday at the city hall, Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa encouraged members of a project team working on measures against illegal minpaku operations.

"We'll eradicate illegal minpaku," Kadokawa said. "We'll put the first priority on protecting the security of nearby residents and their peace of mind." Jiji Press