TOKYO - A private lodging operator based in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward and its chief executive have been referred to prosecutors on suspicion of violating Japan’s Private Lodging Business Act, marking the first such criminal referral nationwide under the law, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
The case stems from an investigation into alleged illegal weekday operations at a private lodging facility in Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward, where local ordinances restrict short-term rentals to a limited window from Saturday through noon on Monday, with police previously conducting searches of the company’s premises.
Those referred to prosecutors are the operating company, K-Carve Life, based in Shinjuku Ward, and two individuals including its Chinese national CEO, aged 34.
Despite the restrictions, the company is suspected of allowing guests to stay at its Arakawa Ward property for 49 days between June and July two years ago, while falsely reporting to the ward that the facility had been used only eight days on weekends, and ignoring an official order to improve its operations, in violation of the Private Lodging Business Act.
The facility had been subject to multiple on-site inspections by the ward, but continued operating in breach of local rules despite repeated guidance, with residents making numerous emergency calls since 2022 citing loud groups of seven to eight people and illegal dumping of garbage.
After receiving a consultation from the ward and judging the case to be highly malicious, the Metropolitan Police carried out coordinated searches of locations linked to the operator in November last year.
Investigators believe the facility accommodated nearly 590 foreign tourists and other guests over roughly three and a half years from 2022, generating about 22 million yen in revenue, with the CEO reportedly telling investigators that the actions were taken to increase company profits.
Complaints over noise and waste related to private lodging operations have been rising, prompting a growing number of local governments to move toward tighter regulations.
Source: TBS
