Since the law’s enforcement, it seems that the dodgy operators are doing business below the surface. Illegal 'minpaku' can be a breeding ground for crime, and we must cope with that.

Motonobu Nakagomi, president of Tokyo-based information technology company Oscar Inc, which has been tracking down suspicious minpaku operators at the request of condominium and apartment management companies. In the more than six months that have passed since the enforcement of the Private Lodging Business Law requiring minpaku operators to register with relevant municipalities, violators of the law operating “dodgy” facilities continue to be a problem by operating private lodgings with falsified registration numbers or posting property information on unregistered lodging websites.

© Yomiuri Shimbun