Hello r/Japan. It’s Dave again from the audience engagement team at Nikkei Asia.
I’m sharing a free portion of the article above for anyone interested.
The excerpt starts below.
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KATSUYUKI TANIMOTO
October 1, 2025
OSAKA — Osaka said Tuesday that it will temporarily stop taking applications to open a type of private short-term rental citywide, as well as make it easier to revoke certifications for existing facilities and ramp up its response to noise and garbage complaints.
The halt on new private lodgings in special zones, or tokku minpaku, was approved by the city government at a meeting that day. Applications will be closed after a public notice period, given that there are businesses now considering applying. Where and under what standards they will be reopened will be decided going forward.
"We haven't yet strengthened monitoring and guidance or made the necessary changes to the system," Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama told reporters. "We're halting new applications to start off, and then we'll quickly take the countermeasures we need."
Osaka allows this type of private short-term rental in certain areas, letting it operate with looser regulations than standard hotels. The city had 6,696 such facilities at the end of July, constituting 94% of Japan's total. Alongside this surge, the city received 399 complaints about these lodgings in fiscal 2024 — at least four times the low logged in fiscal 2021.
The city will rework its rules to encourage proper management of existing facilities, clarifying the process for ordering lodgings to halt operations or withdrawing their certifications in response to complaints. New guidelines will be drawn up as early as November.
Response teams for problematic lodgings will be set up at public health centers, and the city will issue stronger guidance in an effort to nip problems in the bud.
The city also plans to ask the central government for legal changes, such as requiring that operators residing abroad have agents in Japan manage their properties.
by NikkeiAsia