Regulation-hit Airbnb and rivals refresh with rural Japan listings

Countryside offers new opportunities three months after law wiped out properties

20180911 Home-sharing in Fukushima.jpg MAIN

Home-sharing startup Hyakusenrenma started to sell one-, two- and three-week passes that provide unlimited access to about 100 properties across Japan. (Courtesy of Hyakusenrenma)

ERI SUGIURA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Short-term lodging services in Japan are promoting properties in the countryside, not just the big cities that dominated their listings before a new law regulated the industry in June.

The law triggered a serious bout of confusion in the market. U.S. player Airbnb was forced to pull thousands of listings that had not been properly registered, sending travelers scurrying to find alternatives.

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