A neighbourhood in Tokyo popular with foreign tourists will ban visitors from using thousands of short-term rental accommodations after a slew of complaints about behaviour.<\/p>\n
In the latest sign that Japan\u2019s patience with mass tourism<\/a> is wearing thin, Shinjuku ward \u2013 home to the notorious Kabukicho nightlife district<\/a> and the world\u2019s busiest railway station \u2013 will prevent visitors from using private lodgings in residential areas and near schools and important cultural sites, Japanese media reported this week.<\/p>\n The measure, to be introduced through a local ordinance, could encourage other local authorities to follow suit. Shinjuku, with a regular population of more than 350,000, is home to 3,775 private lodgings \u2013 or minpaku \u2013 the largest number anywhere in Japan<\/a>.<\/p>\n While tourism has boosted sectors of Japan\u2019s economy and raised the country\u2019s profile overseas, the surge in visitor numbers<\/a> has created tensions with residents in popular destinations such as Tokyo<\/a>, Kyoto and Osaka.<\/p>\n Shinjuku ward believes the measure will affect as many as 2,000 lodgings in residential areas \u2013 almost half the total, according to the Mainichi Shimbun. The number of minpaku residences in Shinjuku has almost tripled since 2022.<\/p>\n Reports said officials had been forced to act after receiving more than 1,300 complaints from residents in the 12 months to March. Many cited disruption caused by visitors who did not dispose of their rubbish properly, made too much noise and smoked in areas where it is banned. There have also been reports of trespassing.<\/p>\n Officials said temporarily revoking the licenses of renters whose tenants misbehaved would not address residents\u2019 concerns. \u201cEven if we crack down on badly behaved operators, the number of complaints remains the same,\u201d a ward official told the Japan Times. \u201cSo we decided it\u2019s better to change the ordinance.\u201d<\/p>\n Authorities did not single out particular operators for the ban. But it is likely to affect those using popular companies such as Airbnb.<\/p>\n An Airbnb spokesperson told the Guardian: \u201cShinjuku has been an important partner to us, and we take residents\u2019 concerns seriously. Home sharing works best when residents, hosts and guests can all live well alongside each other, and that is what we want to help the ward protect.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would welcome the chance to work with the ward on measures that target the problem more precisely – a prohibition across residential zones would close thousands of registered homes affecting compliant and responsible hosts, while leaving untouched the unregistered operators behind much of the disruption residents describe.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe there is a version of this ordinance that protects residents\u2019 quality of life without closing responsible, licensed hosts, and we want to help find it.\u201d<\/p>\n The ward will ask for members of the public to give their feedback on the proposal next month, with a view to submitting revisions to the ordinance in February. It also plans to reduce the number of days per year that minpaku in residential areas can be rented out from 180 to 120.<\/p>\n Authorities in Kyoto \u2013 where tourists flock to view temples and shrines, rent kimono and photograph traditional geisha entertainers<\/a> \u2013 limit minpaku operations in residential areas to just 60 days a year, during the off-peak season between January and March.<\/p>\n \u201cResidents are concerned that their communities could be falling apart,\u201d Kyoto\u2019s mayor, Koji Matsui, said earlier this year. \u201cWe have strengthened the oversight of operators, but that is not enough. We need to go further,\u201d the Asahi Shimbun quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n A record 42 million people<\/a> visited Japan last year, spending a combined \u00a59.5tn ($62bn) \u2013 also an all-time high. The government has set a target of 60 million visitors by 2030 \u2013 a goal critics say will exacerbate \u201ctourism pollution<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n Authorities near Mount Fuji<\/a> have introduced climbing fees and imposed a daily visitor cap in an attempt to reduce overcrowding on Japan\u2019s highest mountain. In February, the town of Fujiyoshida, a popular Fuji viewing spot, decided to cancel this spring\u2019s cherry blossom festival<\/a>, citing a rise in disruptive behaviour by tourists.<\/p>\n The mayor, Shigeru Horiuchi, said the decision had been taken to \u201cprotect the dignity and living environment of our citizens\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A neighbourhood in Tokyo popular with foreign tourists will ban visitors from using thousands of short-term rental accommodations…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":763837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-763836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=763836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/763837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}