More than 62,000 apartments, homes, and rooms were pulled out from Airbnb on Monday in response to Japan government's new law that requires all vacation rentals owners to apply for a registration number from the federal or local government.
The Japanese Hotels and Inns Act, a law that has been on the books since 1947 to home rentals, and were scheduled to take affect on June 15. Airbnb team has confirmed that, "Any reservation scheduled for guest arrival between June 15 and June 19 at a listing in Japan that does not currently have a license has been canceled." If you are booking a place that is still available on Airbnb in Japan, you have to make sure to contact your host and get their governmental license number to confirm.
The new law limits owners to rent up to 180 days only per year. At some places such as Kyoto, owners are restricted to rent out their homes during off-peak season, and at other places, some of the homes are not permitted to rent out to foreign tourists for the safety of local children who are on their way to school.
"Unfortunately, the Japanese government issued a sudden announcement on June 1 instructing any host without a license number to cancel upcoming reservations that were booked before June 15—even though many of these hosts are actively engaged in the registration process or awaiting their license," Airbnb said in a statement. "This announcement came as a surprise to us. It was contrary to the guidance our team had previously been given by the Japanese Tourism Agency (JTA) and put the travel experiences of thousands of visitors to Japan at risk."
Some tourists were quite disappointed for not being able to stay in a real neighbourhood as they would like to experience the life of a local by going out to a local cafe for morning coffee, buying groceries at nearby supermarket. The feeling of staying in a local's home and staying in a hotel is not the same.
Have you booked an Airbnb in Japan? Make sure you contact your host and ask for his/her registration number to ensure his/her home is approved by the government for rental or you could be staying illegally.
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