Tokyo's Ota Ward on Friday gave permission to an online travel service provider to start renting out private homes on the popular Airbnb model.
It became the first municipality to allow home sharing on a short-term rental basis to accommodate swelling ranks of foreign visitors, although it is requiring stays to be for a minimum of six nights — in a nod to potential lost trade by hotels.
Ota Ward, home to Haneda airport, is launching its so-called minpaku (private stay) program as part of deregulation measures pushed by the central government to ease Tokyo's hotel shortage.
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