Fukuoka City has announced plans to launch a pilot program that will permit the rental of rooms in private homes as lodgings only during times when concerts or other major events make it difficult to secure hotel rooms. It plans to begin a trial this month coinciding with concerts by the extremely popular groups Arashi and Exile. According to Japanese law, it is technically illegal to charge visitors money to stay in private residences. In July, at the behest of local governments feeling the pinch of the nationwide hotel shortage, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour issued a statement to all of the prefectures and designated cities saying that home-sharing (as opposed to renting and listing entire apartments or homes as accommodations) does not fall under the purview of the hotel industry. Based on this, Fukuoka will grant permission for Airbnb-style accommodations on a limited basis. It will use the City homepage to recruit people offering rooms, but it will not be involved in setting prices or lodging conditions. The City will start with 17th~19th and the 26th~27th, the respective dates of the Arashi and Exile concerts, and will consider expanding the initiative to dates when large conferences are held in Fukuoka.
Source: RKB-TV Dec. 8
(Photo: provided by the City of Fukuoka)
