Tokyo condos shutting doors on home-sharing lodging businesses

People saying this measure was created due to racism against foreigners are seriously lacking in critical thinking skills. There are similar measures by homeowner's association which will prohibit airbnb type for many reasons; most notably for security risks. Think about those condos or apartments that have security locks at the entrances. It is there to keep out unwanted solicitors and tries to maximize privacy for the residency by offering secured entry that are usually found at the main entrance of the building. By extension, it is reasonable to assume that the owners living at these locations would prefer to ban any airbnb services within their building. By preventing your next door neighbor with airbnb services, the owners of these homes will not have to deal with unfamiliar faces, whether foreign or Japanese, that they will be dealing on a continuous basis.

The result would be no different if one of the neighbors decided to open up a business that attracts foot traffic within the building. For example, a restaurant that opens only via reservations and limiting 5 customers a day would still find neighbors complaining and the homeowner's association to take action.

It's all about anti-China.... as here in Asia, they are the most prevalent visitors to Japan.

The problem is that speculators will buy units for the specific purpose of renting them out, causing an artificial increase in prices and making it more difficult for legit renters to find good property. The recently passed 180 day law is a good way to discourage that.

"Having tight security is one the benefits of living here. We're not prepared to deal with any trouble caused by unfamiliar visitors" from around the country or abroad, said Shimada

Not the person I quoted.

As an owner of a Condo and devoting your entire life to making sure it gets paid for, you should be able to do whatever you want... Soon they will be saying guests and extended family cannot use any of the facilities due to cleanliness and safety issues.

On what grounds will they prepare law suits? If residents haven't signed a contract stating they cannot do it there are no grounds for legal action. This is just more corporation bullying.

On the grounds that they violated the owners association rules. If the associations in Japan are like those in the US then their rules, even if they change after someone buys their unit, are an enforceable contract. And the OWNERS are not a corporation, they are elected by the owners in the building and any rules changes have to be voted on by all the owners.

And yes, often times the owners associations are bullies, but their powers and the whole process are known to anyone before buying a unit. I decided not to buy a home in an area that had a badly run owners association. The problems were well known in the city and most people would not buy into the community which seriously drove down the prices to the point that the owners voted out the bullies.

a good Japanese friend of mine was renting an Airbnb for himself and a couple of friends here in Tokyo and he was surprised at how many of the listings stipulated 'Japanese only'. Isn't there a rule against discrimination with Airbnb? I remember reading about a couple of cases in the US.

I've seen signs up in some places saying "No AirBnB". Seems a pity, some folk trying to make money get shafted not only by the Government, but by the "Residence Association" too... given the exuberant charges made by Hotels (charging by person even), one would have thought that there was a need for cheaper accommodation.

Ha ha - Japanese people love to believe that they are God's chosen people who are the only one's capable of taking trash out on certain days, not making excessive amounts of noise or being a nice, normal person. No offense, but there are plenty of Japanese who are noisy, annoying neighbors. Who let their kids play outside in front of their building, screaming and carrying on.

sourpussToday 11:35 am JST

It's not a surprise that the transient nature of apartment residents is are a safety concern of long-term residents.

Would you rather know your neighbors, or have complete strangers living next door?

Practically every mansion/apartment in Tokyo comes with a 2 year contract if you are renting . Not everyone renews their contract so people have unknown neighbors every few years anyway. Also, how many people actually know their neighbors here? Any sense of communal neighborhoods only really exisit in the countryside, where temporary visitors wouldn't stay anyway.

Good on the Japanese for resisting this silly trend. They still value local community here, and part of a strong feeling of community means knowing exactly who your neighbours are and fitting in with local norms. Resist this globalist free for all, Japan!

Opinions are the same for my residential neighborhood. Rental apartments get the same thumbs down reaction, whereas homes and mansions get the thumbs up. It's not a surprise that the transient nature of apartment residents is are a safety concern of long-term residents.

Would you rather know your neighbors, or have complete strangers living next door?

Good on them if that is what they want.

If my daughter goes to college and I'm helping her find a rental apartment, I would choose a building that bans minpaku over a building that allows it. I don't care whether its minpaku for foreigners, minpaku for Japanese, or minpaku for Tralfamadorians. I think its only natural to care about who lives next door to you in a shared building. If by chance she ended up in a no-minpaku building next to someone difficult or suspicious, I would find money for her to move.

Really glad that more and more places seem to have rules against bnb type 'Minpaku' systems. I'm sure opinions are complete opposite for those who are trying to make a buck out of the new business model but I for one really don't want any strangers, foreign or not coming in/out of my apartment in a normal basis. For those who want to do this type of investment/business why not just buy a whole old apartment building and just run BNB for the whole building ? You can then come up w/ your own building rules to a large extent.

"Having tight security is one the benefits of living here. We're not prepared to deal with any trouble caused by unfamiliar visitors" from around the country or abroad, said Shimada,"

This is racism, pure and simple!

How exactly is it racism? Read it again "from around the country or abroad, said Shimada,"

My colleagues brother just had his Minpaku shut down by the local authorities. He is now unemployed as a result. He has to stay home to care for his sick mother. His life and his mother’s life is destroyed

Why doesn't he rent out the place on a long-term contract? Or he could sell it and set up a new minpaku in a place where they are allowed? Or your colleague could stay at home with his sick mother whilst his brother gets a job. There are lots of options; no lives have been "destroyed".

"Having tight security is one the benefits of living here. We're not prepared to deal with any trouble caused by unfamiliar visitors" from around the country or abroad, said Shimada,"

This is racism, pure and simple!

My colleagues brother just had his Minpaku shut down by the local authorities. He is now unemployed as a result. He has to stay home to care for his sick mother. His life and his mother’s life is destroyed.

no one needs these associations anymore or the dumba**** running it. Most of these associations are a bunch of whiny geezers complaining just about every thing and issuing advisory, not for the common good but to satisfy their ego

The associations are important and determine things like how much money should go into the repair fund each year, looking after maintenance etc. I've lived in a block where nobody wanted to take care of those things with the result that the repair fund was insufficient for the 10-year refurbishment and those lift-type car park things had to be removed as there was no money to replace them. Luckily, we were just renting that place.

In my current block the association is very good and they plan ahead, keep the finances in order and get things replaced before they fail. I would also vote for a ban on short-term lets as there is no benefit for any of the residents.

Still, I wonder why people worry about "visitors not complying with garbage disposal rules", when the streets, parks, beaches and countryside are covered with illegally-dumped rubbish. Why don't they complain about that?

Its members, all of whom are condo owners...

Right. So they don't want residents making money off of their building.

This is normal, the exact same thing happened in my apartment complex which I also voted for.

The foreign tourist comes to Tokyo as a visitor and does not care one bit about noise, security, and cleanliness concerns of its neighbors. 

We also did this in our condo, I voted as you did for the same reasons.

I don't think I changed their words at all. In my mind both of these terms are targeting and hoisting blame on foreigners.

Fair enough, this one could be read that way:

"Some locals tell us they recently have seen unfamiliar foreigners frequenting private housing buildings,"

but is reporting what one has seen discrimination? How should they describe what they saw without upsetting you?

But you changed the words on this one and then decided in YOUR mind that it was "discrimination":

*"Having tight security is one the benefits of living here. We're not prepared to deal with any trouble caused by unfamiliar visitors" from around the country or abroad, said Shimada*

But like I said its what they want, its their property, they have made the choice. No one else's business.

This is normal, the exact same thing happened in my apartment complex which I also voted for.

The foreign tourist comes to Tokyo as a visitor and does not care one bit about noise, security, and cleanliness concerns of its neighbors. Therefore they are banned from using accommodation in my apartment complex, and I assume they will be banned citywide soon.

Until there is a foolproof system to weed out and purge the low quality renters, a blanket ban is rational.

 We're not prepared to deal with any trouble caused by unfamiliar visitors" from around the country or abroad

"Some locals tell us they recently have seen unfamiliar foreigners frequenting private housing buildings,"

I don't think I changed their words at all. In my mind both of these terms are targeting and hoisting blame on foreigners.

What about unfamiliar non-foreigners?

"Having tight security is one the benefits of living here. We're not prepared to deal with any trouble caused by unfamiliar visitors" from around the country or abroad, said Shimada

Maybe it is just me, but I read a bit of discrimination and racial profiling in this article. "We don't want strangers",read foreigners in our buildings. "These buildings are safe and owners expect to be safe in their homes", read, if we allow foreigners in they will jeopardize our safety.

You are changing the words and then saying it is discrimination. The home owners don't want it and that's that.

There is no guarantee that every single resident and owner will follow our regulations," said Shimada. "Our owners association will issue an advisory to stop such practices first and prepare for lawsuits

If you guys had balls and brain for standing up for real issues and suing the big corporations, instead of acting as their instruments in blocking shift to shared economy.

WWII is long over no one needs these associations anymore or the dumba**** running it. Most of these associations are a bunch of whiny geezers complaining just about every thing and issuing advisory, not for the common good but to satisfy their ego.

Maybe it is just me, but I read a bit of discrimination and racial profiling in this article. "We don't want strangers",read foreigners in our buildings. "These buildings are safe and owners expect to be safe in their homes", read, if we allow foreigners in they will jeopardize our safety.

APA Community

There you go.

No mention of the foreign hordes up until this:

> Hideaki Umemura, head of the housing division at Koto Ward office, said, "Some locals tell us they recently have seen unfamiliar foreigners frequenting private housing buildings,"

What about unfamiliar non-foreigners?

Shocker, they might just not separate the garbage, oh the horror.....that strong xenophobic gene coming through again Japan. Shame on you....

I think... in order to allay their fears, that any foreigner intending to stay at such a condo, must first pass a Garbage test.

Maybe it is just me, but I read a bit of discrimination and racial profiling in this article. "We don't want strangers",read foreigners in our buildings. "These buildings are safe and owners expect to be safe in their homes", read, if we allow foreigners in they will jeopardize our safety.

"Security systems will collapse internally if many unspecified persons are allowed to enter the property."

So, how many tourists are they expecting to live in their apartments? The reality would be less than ten people. These idiots are carrying on as if a hundred foreigners are going to invade their apartment blocks.

Our owners association will issue an advisory to stop such practices first and prepare for lawsuits as a next step.

On what grounds will they prepare law suits? If residents haven't signed a contract stating they cannot do it there are no grounds for legal action. This is just more corporation bullying. TIJ!