Home-sharings cross 1 000 mark

JAPAN’S home-sharing listings have crossed the 1 000 mark, the nation’s tourist agency said yesterday, ahead of a new law regulating the practice that comes into effect tomorrow. The count is 10 times higher than it was just a month ago, but still lags the 62 000 listings that market leader Airbnb Inc had earlier this year. Japan will enact the private temporary lodging, or “minpaku” law, tomorrow. The law requires hosts to register with the government apart from imposing other rules and restrictions. Japan has received 2 707 applications nationwide as of June 8, of which 1 134 were approved, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. As of May 11, the government had approved 152 of 724 applications. The new law limits home-sharing to 180 days a year, a cap that the hosts say makes it difficult to turn a profit and leaves final decision-making to local governments, some of which have imposed even stricter rules to protect security. – Reuters