Tokyo (Jiji Press) — The Japan Tourism Agency asked accommodation booking websites and others to take down around 250 cases of information on illegal “minpaku” private lodging services in fiscal 2024, Jiji Press learned Tuesday.
Minpaku operators are required to notify prefectural governments of their businesses, ensure sanitary conditions and handle complaints.
Article continues after this advertisement
According to the agency, it instructed intermediary businesses such as website operators in the year through this March to delete information on some 250 cases linked to minpaku services that had not submitted notifications to prefectural governments but were posted on booking sites.
The agency has already made such deletion requests in about 40 cases this fiscal year.
Residents of a seven-story rental apartment in Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward have been forced to leave due to illegal minpaku activity, and former residents are calling for stricter crackdowns.
According to official registries and former residents, an affiliate of a major real estate firm purchased the apartment on Nov. 29 last year and sold it on Jan. 17 this year to a company led by a man with an address in China.
That month, the company unilaterally notified tenants that rent will be raised from around 70,000 yen per month to 190,000 yen.
Article continues after this advertisement
Foreigners with suitcases began to frequently visit the apartment from around March, and a resident found that a room in the building was being listed for about 25,000 yen per night on a booking website. It turned out to be an illegal minpaku facility that had not been notified to the ward.
A number of residents voluntarily left the apartment, partly because residents’ use of elevators was suspended in May because of a malfunction.
Article continues after this advertisement
“I consulted with the local government but I have the impression that the case was dismissed because it was a civil matter,” said a man who moved out of the apartment this month. He questioned whether such illegal acts should be allowed.
The company has not responded to requests for comment, while a public relations official of the major real estate group said that it has taken necessary procedures for real estate transactions.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
AloJapan.com