South China Morning Post
· collected 2026-09-07 · by Agence France-Presse
Japan's ward of Shinjuku plans to ban more than half of its 4,000 holiday rentals, which include properties listed on Airbnb, due to complaints about noisy and trash-producing tourists. The ban will only apply to existing rentals and is expected to result in the closure of around 2,000 properties. According to a Shinjuku official, the surge in short-term rentals has led to increased problems for residents, including littering, smoking where prohibited, and excessive noise. The plan, which will be formally announced by the mayor on Tuesday, aims to revise an existing ordinance to prohibit private lodging in residential zones and areas near schools.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
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same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Japan's Shinjuku district in Tokyo plans to ban more than half of its 4,000 holiday rentals, including those listed on Airbnb, due to increasing complaints from residents. The policy will only apply to existing rentals and is expected to result in the closure of around 2,000 properties. The ban is aimed at addressing issues such as littering, smoking in prohibited areas, and excessive noise caused by tourists in residential zones and near schools. According to officials, the number of complaints has risen with the growth of short-term rental businesses, which now account for nearly 10% of Japan's total holiday rentals. The district hopes to revise its current ordinance to implement this ban, which is set to affect around 50% of its holiday rentals.
Written for “Tokyo's Short Term Rental Crackdown” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score +0.35 for article 6714 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-07
The policy will only apply to existing rentals, an official says.
asserted
official → apply → rentals
It is likely to result in the closure of about 2,000 properties
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It → result → properties
Japan’s tourist hotspot Shinjuku will impose a ban on more than half of its holiday rentals, including homes on Airbnb, after a surge in complaints about visitors, an official has said.
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official → impose → visitors
Known for its buzzing commercial and entertainment district in the Japanese capital Tokyo, Shinjuku has about 4,000 short-term rentals, according to the ward’s official website.
uncertain
Shinjuku → know → website
But its large residential population has become increasingly exasperated with tourists who fail to properly dispose of rubbish, smoke where they are not supposed to and make too much noise.
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they → become → noise
A Shinjuku official supervising holiday rentals said on Monday that the district was “planning to revise the current ordinance … to ban private lodging” in residential zones and areas near schools.
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district → supervise → schools
“As the number of private lodging businesses has risen, complaints and troubles around them have increased,” the official said on customary condition of anonymity.
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official → rise → anonymity
More than 50 per cent of short-term rentals in Shinjuku faced a ban under the new rules, he said, adding that the plan would formally be announced by the Shinjuku mayor on Tuesday.
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plan → face → Tuesday
