Many buyers look at an akiya (an empty home in Japan) and picture it earning its keep with short-stay guests while they are away. Japan has a law for exactly that, usually called minpaku, or home-sharing. Whether a particular house fits it depends on national rules, local rules and the house itself. This guide sets out what those rules are and who holds the answer for a given address. It is general information, not legal advice.
What is a minpaku?
A minpaku is a home let to paying overnight guests under the Private Lodging Business Act of 2017 (the home-sharing law). Three points from the law define it:
- It stays a home. The building has to be a house with a kitchen, a bath, a toilet and a washbasin, and it has to count as lived in: someone's main home, a home being offered to new tenants, or a home its owner uses from time to time.
- It is notified, not licensed. The host files a notification with the prefecture (or a city that handles it) before the first guest.
- It has a ceiling of 180 nights a year. Guest nights over a year may not go past 180.
When the host is not living in the home while guests stay, the law requires the day-to-day running to be handed to a registered home-sharing management company. For most akiya owners abroad, that is the normal arrangement.
What local rules sit on top?
The law lets a prefecture, or a city that runs the scheme itself, pass an ordinance that limits home-sharing to certain periods in certain areas, to protect the neighbourhood. Many have. Engawa reads the Japan Tourism Agency list dated 1 April 2021, which covers 157 authorities: the 47 prefectures, 87 larger cities and the 23 Tokyo wards. Of the 105 with a status of their own, 58 have an ordinance (54 limit areas or periods, and 4 only add conduct rules such as notice to neighbours) and 47 show none. A town that is not on the list falls under its prefecture's entry. "None found" is not the same as permission, because the list is dated and the national rules still apply.
Other local layers matter as well. Fire rules apply to every minpaku, and the agency guide asks hosts to talk to the local fire station before notifying. A flat or a shared building may ban home-sharing in its own rules. For a house bought through an akiya bank, the bank's rules may set conditions on living in the home or on business use; see what an akiya bank is.
How does Engawa show this on a listing?
Every listing page carries a section called "Thinking of renting it out?". It lists, one line each, the bank rules on living in the home, business use and resale; the home-sharing ordinance for that council; the zoning for hotels and inns; whether the spot is in an urbanisation control area; the heavy-snow designation; and the straight-line distance to an airport and a shinkansen station. Each line names its source and date. Where we have no data, the line says unknown, and unknown never means permitted. There is no score and no verdict, because the people who decide are the town, the bank and the licensing office.
Where to check for a specific house
- The Japan Tourism Agency guide for hosts (in Japanese, information as of 31 March 2022) walks through the checks: the house, its facilities, the ordinance, fire rules and the notification.
- The list of local home-sharing desks names the office for each area. That desk can say which ordinance covers the address.
- The bank or the town office can say whether its rules allow guest stays in a bank home.
Frequently asked questions
Is a minpaku the same as an Airbnb?
Airbnb is a booking platform. Minpaku is the legal category under the home-sharing law. A booking platform does not replace the notification, the ordinance check or the fire rules.
Does the 180-night limit apply to every akiya?
It applies to every home run under the home-sharing law, and a local ordinance can narrow it further. A ryokan or inn licence is a separate route with no fixed night cap but stricter building and zoning rules; see 180-day minpaku vs a ryokan licence.
If the minpaku list shows no ordinance, is home-sharing allowed?
Not on that basis alone. The list Engawa reads is dated 1 April 2021 and may have changed since, and the national rules, fire rules and any bank conditions still apply. The local desk holds the current answer.
Does buying an akiya to rent out get me a visa?
No. Owning or running a property in Japan grants no residence status; see buying an akiya does not get you a visa.
The honest bottom line
The home-sharing law gives an akiya a route to short-stay guests, capped at 180 nights a year and shaped by local ordinances, fire rules and the bank's own conditions. Engawa shows what the published rules and maps say for each listing, with sources, and the town, the bank and the local desk have the final word. This guide is general information, not legal advice.