TOKYO: Sarah Takeda thought she had a good little business renting a traditional tatami-mat room in her house on Airbnb.
But she and other hosts in Japan are learning the hard way that the home-sharing site’s fastest-growing market is also becoming the next flashpoint in a global battle over the sharing economy. Hoteliers are up in arms, local residents complain that outsiders are invading their neighbourhoods, and Japanese officials say renting out private homes is illegal.
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