What Japan’s one-month accommodation guidance says

You may hear that a Tokyo apartment becomes a residential rental once the booking reaches 30 days. The official guidance is more careful than that. It suggests using one month as a guide when assessing the booking, alongside how the business actually runs the property. Reaching that length does not automatically remove the need for a lodging licence.

The document behind many of these explanations is a joint notice issued on 6 November 2018 by the Japan Tourism Agency and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. It explains what accommodation websites should tell travellers and when the Hotel Business Act applies.

How the home is used and managed

MHLW's Hotel Business Act FAQ explains the relevant considerations: who is responsible for keeping the property clean and hygienic, and whether the person lives in the room as their home.

Calling the booking a “lease” does not establish how the home is used and managed. A kitchen, a washing machine or a bill bundled into the rent does not by itself show whether the home is lodging or a residential rental.

If you are booking a stay, ask what agreement you will sign and who manages the accommodation. If you plan to rent out a property, discuss the proposed use and management with the local public health centre before deciding which rules apply.

What the one-month reference does

The 2018 notice recommends one month as a guide for local authorities: shorter stays should generally be treated as lodging. An authority already using a different period can continue to do so. The notice does not create a uniform national “30-night rule”.

For accommodation websites, the notice sets conditions for listing homes as short-term rentals. The planned stay must be at least as long as the period the local authority uses as its guide. The website must also explain the lease and who is responsible for keeping the property clean, as described below.

The notice says “one month”, which is not always thirty nights. A company's 30-day minimum may be its own booking rule. Ask how it counts the minimum stay rather than assuming the notice tells you which dates to book. For example, 1 February to 1 March 2026 is 28 nights, while 1 March to 1 April is 31 nights. Those are calendar calculations, not tests that decide whether a property needs a lodging licence.

The listing must explain the rental arrangement

For the longer bookings addressed in the notice, the website should clearly show the minimum stay. It should explain that you must sign a short-term lease and that the business does not take responsibility for keeping the property clean and hygienic.

If a listing says “one month, therefore no lodging permission needed,” ask to see the lease. Also ask who is responsible for keeping the home clean and hygienic. The company needs to explain these conditions too.

Buying cleaning supplies yourself does not make the property a rental. Optional cleaning does not, by itself, make it a hotel either. The question is who takes responsibility for keeping the property clean, not who performs one cleaning task.

Booking a month and cancelling most of it

Imagine a listing that shows a month-long minimum but routinely invites guests to book the month and immediately cancel all but three nights. The business is planning a three-night lodging stay while advertising a month-long rental. The notice calls for measures to prevent bookings being shortened without a legitimate reason in this way.

The notice does not set one cancellation fee for all monthly apartments. Nor does making a payment non-refundable prove that the booking is a residential lease. Read your contract’s cancellation terms to check what you would owe and whether you could get a refund.

Longer lodging stays still exist

MHLW's FAQ lists geshuku as a type of lodging under the Hotel Business Act, with fees calculated by the month or for longer periods. Monthly billing can therefore still fall under the lodging law.

A licensed accommodation business can offer a longer stay. Your immigration permission is another separate matter; a housing contract does not extend it or mean you will receive a residence card.

What to ask about your own booking

Ask whether the company is offering guest accommodation or renting the apartment to you as a home. Request the agreement and ask who is responsible for managing and cleaning the property. If it says the home is licensed or registered for lodging, ask for its licence or registration number and the office responsible. If it says the accommodation is a residential rental, ask it to explain that arrangement without relying only on the booking length.

If you cannot tell which rules apply, send the listing and proposed contract to the public health centre responsible for the address. MHLW directs these questions to that local office. The office can help clarify which rules apply to that property.