Controversy is mounting in Japan over property purchases by Chinese capital. Cases are piling up in which Chinese landlords have notified existing tenants of rent increases of 2.6 times, and in which luxury apartments in central Tokyo are being used as unlicensed short-term rentals.
A post recruiting guests for a 45-story luxury tower condominium in Tokyo's Minato Ward recently appeared on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, or Nikkei, reported on the 13th. The poster promoted a unit on the 38th floor, drawing in users with phrases such as "the best view," "80 square meters with three rooms" and "a three-minute walk from the station."
When Nikkei reporters inquired by messenger, the poster initially quoted 90,000 yen (about 760,000 won) per night, then raised the price to 120,000 yen (about 1.01 million won) during the conversation. A minimum three-night stay was required, and a cleaning fee of 20,000 yen (about 170,000 won) was charged separately. The final amount quoted was 380,000 yen (about 3.2 million won) for three nights.
Using photos from the post as clues, the reporters located the unit and checked the property register. The owner was a real estate brokerage and short-term rental operator based in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, and the company's president was presumed to be Chinese. A company employee said the apartment had been purchased as an investment but added, "We do not run short-term rentals in that tower condominium."
A suspected illegal short-term rental was also identified at another tower condominium in the same Minato Ward. A poster advertising a unit in the 32-story building asked 104,000 yen (about 880,000 won) for two nights. During the booking process, communication shifted to the Chinese messenger WeChat, and the reporters sent a deposit of 50,000 yen (about 420,000 won) two days before the stay and the balance of 54,000 yen (about 450,000 won) the day before, using the Japanese mobile payment service PayPay.
On the evening of check-in, a man approached the reporters in Chinese in front of the main entrance. Upon learning that the person who had been communicating via WeChat was Japanese, the man said in halting Japanese, "You're checking in, right?" and then led them to the back entrance. After entering the unit on the 23rd floor, the man urged them not to lock the door at checkout and to leave the key on the table, then departed.
The roughly 60-square-meter unit had two rooms, four beds and two sets of bedding, and could accommodate up to six people. Tokyo Tower and the Rainbow Bridge were visible from the window.
The problem is that the apartment does not appear on the list of short-term rental facilities disclosed by Minato Ward, and the building's management rules also prohibit short-term rental operations. An official at the Minato public health center said the center had received an inquiry from the building's management company about a suspected illegal short-term rental but had not secured firm evidence.
The ethnically Chinese foreign national listed as the owner on the property register claimed, "It seems the person I rented it to is running a short-term rental without permission." The man in whose name the payment was received — a naturalized Japanese citizen originally from China's Liaoning Province — also denied the allegations, saying, "I have been renting the unit for a year, but I do not run a short-term rental."
Complaints Up 80%, Rent Up 2.6 Times as Tokyo Tightens Rules
Disputes over illegal short-term rentals are not confined to central Tokyo. In Tokyo's Itabashi Ward, a Chinese company bought a seven-story rental apartment building and then notified tenants that it would raise rents from about 70,000 yen (about 600,000 won) to 190,000 yen (about 1.62 million won). The increase of roughly 2.6 times triggered a conflict between the tenants and the landlord.
Complaints have also surged in Shinjuku Ward, which has the largest number of short-term rental facilities. Complaints about illegal short-term rentals in fiscal 2025 rose about 80% from a year earlier to more than 400. Shinjuku Ward announced last month that it would, in principle, ban short-term rental operations in residential-only zones and near schools. Minato Ward is also reviewing a revision of its ordinance to tighten short-term rental rules.
Enforcement is difficult because the operators and guests are hard to identify. The Minato public health center official said that with unlicensed short-term rentals it is difficult to confirm the operator or the owner, and that because bookings and payments are often handled on foreign-language websites, administrative agencies alone face limits in grasping the reality. Even when guests are found, further verification is not easy if they claim they are visiting a friend's home, the official said.
Behind the rise in illegal short-term rentals are growing tourist numbers and rising accommodation costs. According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the average nightly rate at short-term rentals and budget lodgings in Tokyo was 9,837 yen (about 83,000 won) as of 2024, up 60% from five years earlier. The average for the highest-priced rooms was 13,680 yen (about 115,200 won), exceeding the 13,634 yen (about 114,800 won) average for hotels and ryokan.
The Japanese government has also moved to set up a system for tracking foreign ownership of real estate. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed relevant ministries in November last year to assess foreign ownership of property. The government is pushing measures to verify the nationality of property buyers and, when a corporation acquires land, to identify the nationality of its representative and owners.