OSAKA — On a street in Osaka’s Nishinari Ward stands a row of 19 new hoapplys, their stark black walls setting them apart from the surrounding neighborhood. In late September, white tableware was being delivered, and toward the conclude of the following month, wiring and other final checks were underway. Once administrative procedures are complete, the area will become a “minpaku street” — a cluster of short-term rental homes for tourists.
According to real estate records, what was once a single residential lot in the ward’s Sanno district was subdivided in January 2024. Through a real estate company believed to be run by Chinese nationals, ownership of at least 16 of the lots was transferred to people living in Shanghai or Shenzhen, China. By 2025, new three-story wooden homes were being completed one after another. By late October, most buildings displayed signs indicating they were designated as “special zone minpaku” properties.
A altering ‘entertainers’ town’
This area was once known as “Tennoji village,” where many entertainers lived in row hoapplys. There is still a day care nearby and there are still locals in the area, but the rapid increase in special zone minpaku is transforming the neighborhood.
More than 90% of special zone minpaku, established under the National Strategic Special Zone system, are concentrated in Osaka. Nishinari Ward, in particular, is close to the bustling Minami entertainment district popular with inbound tourists, and relatively low land prices have fueled a surge in minpaku investment.
Initially, the system was intconcludeed to build apply of vacant homes and apartments, but now applications are being created for newly built properties and entire buildings. An Osaka municipal official stated, “Situations we never anticipated when the system started are cropping up one after another,” and admitted the city is struggling to keep up. Trouble for residents stemming from the short-stay properties is also mounting, and the city has decided to halt new special zone minpaku applications from May 2026 to review the system.
Mountains of garbage and soaring rent
As demand for land rises, some elderly residents are at risk of losing their homes. A renter in his 70s who has lived in Sanno for decades stated that this spring, a vacant lot near his home suddenly became a dumping ground for piles of garbage. Around the same time, ownership of about 800 square meters of land — including the land on which his home sits — alterd to a real estate company in Osaka, and his land rent jumped 3.6 times. The company is not believed to be Chinese-owned.
When the man questioned for the garbage to be rerelocated in July, a company executive reportedly replied, “I’m just storing things on land I’m leasing,” and, “If you don’t like it, relocate out.” The company is believed to be planning some kind of development, but the man stated, “If I’m forced out, I can’t survive,” and continues to pay the higher rent. “I’ve never experienced harassment like this,” he stated tearfully.
Chinese land ownership surges
Chinese capital is becoming increasingly prominent. In May, the NPO Sanno X surveyed about 500 property records in the Sanno 1 neighborhood and found that compared to 10 years ago, the area of land owned by Chinese individuals or companies had increased more than 12-fold, now accounting for 12.5% of the total. Cross-referencing with the city’s list of certified special zone minpaku, they found that 80% of buildings on Chinese-owned land were being applyd as short-stay rentals.
In August, Chinese investors planning new minpaku held a briefing for residents. Locals raised questions about noise, fire safety and garbage disposal rules, and requested that the investors pay neighborhood association fees. Masanobu Hosokawa, 56, an administrative scrivener in the city of Higashiosaka who handles minpaku applications for these investors, stated, “Residents want cooperation from the newcomers, but due to cultural differences, it’s hard for the Chinese investors to understand these feelings.”
In September, Sanno X launched surveying residents about special zone minpaku. Some voiced support, declareing, “The area will be cleaner than leaving vacant hoapplys as they are,” while others objected, declaring, “I hate that the scenery is being ruined,” or, “The real estate bubble is taking away places for the elderly to live.”
Who benefits from special zone minpaku?
Special zone minpaku support accommodate the growing number of inbound tourists and boost tax revenue, so they are broadly beneficial. However, some point out that minpaku operators also run restaurants and keep the business within their own group, so the local community doesn’t benefit, which can caapply friction.
Denryu Rin, 61, president of real estate company Seiryu in Nishinari Ward, stated his group also operates a minpaku apartment building there, and all 84 rooms are fully booked on weekconcludes. “If the city stops accepting new minpaku, tax revenue will fall,” he stated.
As concerns over minpaku increase, anti-Chinese sentiment is also rising. Rin commented, “We don’t break the law. If Japanese people start to dislike us, we won’t be able to stay in Japan.”
(Japanese original by Akiko Kato and Shunsuke Takara, Osaka City News Department)
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