We, Tokyo Home Sharing Club, Kyoto Home Sharing Club and Hokkaido Home Sharing Club, are the independent organisations whose membership is largely home sharers who share their primary home.

There are many inbound tourists who are interested not only in sightseeing but also in living like a local.

By sharing our everyday life occasionally with travellers, individuals like us are able to feel to be part of the world, to embrace people-to-people exchange, and to receive economic benefits.

When travellers stay at homes, it can benefit the area that had never enjoyed the share of tourism and can revitalise the local economy such as market streets

　We are committed to

• Acting responsibly in welcoming guests while respecting our neighbours;
• Enjoying providing personal hospitality;
• Supporting our local communities; and
• Fulfilling our responsibilities as a member of society

The rapid growth of short-term rentals in Japan has taught us some challenges that we have to tackle. We strongly believe that we are able to strike the balance that the home sharing can benefit both communities and individuals to enhance the cultural richness of the society.

We would like to deliver our voice about the proposed short term rental bill in JApan. We are hoping that we can continue hosting without a major change in what we already possess. We want to make sure all administrative processes that are required to be a host does not require professional skills to complete. Last but not least, we hope our privacy is protected in a fair manner.

Please hereby express your support to help ordinary people continue hosting in Japan.

1. The Japanese government should differentiate between accommodations offered by professional property managers and hosts offering accommodation on a non-professional basis. The rules should accommodate hosts who partake in home sharing on a non-professional basis, while encouraging the utilisation of empty homes across Japan, reflecting the needs of each city.
2. The notification system to become a host should be clear, simple and easy to understand so ordinary hosts can participate in home sharing without unnecessary red tape. For example, hosts sharing their own home should not have to present professionally made blueprints of their home when they wish to notify the government. We would like to make sure any unrealistic requirements are not written in the future law and governmental and ministerial ordinance. (see Article 3-3 of the Bill)
3. Privacy of hosts is protected under the obligation to put a sign where publicly visible. If a host is required to put their personal data on the sign, this may cause a serious infringement of privacy and poses hosts a risk that their personal data may be used for crimes. We would like to make sure any unrealistic requirements are not written in the future law and governmental and ministerial ordinance. (see Article 13)
4. “Intermediary Service” (Baikai in the Japanese term) should be clearly defined not to cause any confusion among hosts. Article 12 suggests that hosts must use the registered intermediary service to share their homes. It is, however, unclear which services can be regarded as “Intermediary Service”. If a host happens to use a service without registration to advertise their guests without knowing the service is an intermediary service that is supposed to register with the Japanese government, s/he can be held liable and can be given a criminal sanction. We would like the intermediary service is clearly clarified.