OSAKA - Osaka City plans to tighten regulations on private lodging businesses, or minpaku, by generally prohibiting new operations in wooden and steel-frame apartment buildings where residents already live, following repeated complaints over noise and garbage.
The city is preparing to submit an ordinance revision to the municipal assembly in September as it seeks to strengthen restrictions on lodging businesses operating under the Hotel Business Act.
Osaka had promoted a deregulated system known as special-zone minpaku to accommodate the rapid increase in foreign tourists, but complaints from residents about noise, abandoned garbage and other problems continued to rise.
The city stopped accepting new applications for special-zone minpaku in May 2026.
Since then, however, the number of consultations regarding the opening of minpaku businesses under the Hotel Business Act has increased sharply, according to the city.
More than 80% of noise complaints submitted over the two years through 2025 concerning special-zone minpaku involved wooden or steel-frame buildings.
Under the proposed ordinance revision, new minpaku businesses would generally not be permitted in wooden or steel-frame apartment buildings and similar properties where residents are already living.
The city would also require a staff member to remain stationed within one kilometer of the lodging facility whenever guests are staying there.
Source: YOMIURI
