Shintaro Nakagawa, Airbnb Japan Representative Director, said at a media roundtable that they prioritize to raise awareness of the brand in Japan to increase Japanese users. Nakagawa took office as  Representative Director Japan in 2026 after Uber and Uber Eats Japan. 

Investing to service development for Japanese guests

Bookings of Airbnb in Japan increased by 27% in the latest research, and Japan is one of the growing markets globally. However, the ratio of Japanese guests is just around 30%. Nakagawa said that an ideal user composition is 50% of each Japanese and international.

“We are focusing on acquiring new Japanese users,” Nakagawa said. “We are particularly targeting young travelers living in urban areas to contribute to disperse them to local areas.” 

Also, he showed an idea to invest to develop services or app functions for Japanese guests because their needs are different from international needs.

Airbnb has extended its listings to independent hotels or boutique hotels globally. Nakagawa said, “Japan is not exceptional, but what we have to do first is to focus on home sharing as a core business.”

Events are chances to increase new Japanese users

Airbnb Japan regards events, such as sports, music or fan events, as chances for Japanese people to experience Airbnb. In such events, the balance between demand and supply tends to break because demand increases in the limited period. Nakagawa said, “That is a good opportunity for home sharing to be experienced.” 

As one of the efforts, Airbnb Japan became an official partner for J League Gamba Osaka in this coming season to meet demands of  fans and to capture new users. 

Airbnb is a sponsor partner for FIFA World Cup 2026 in U.S., Canada and Mexico. Nakagawa said, “It will be the biggest sponsorship ever for Airbnb, and we will certainly welcome the most guests in an event.”

Enriched ‘Service’ and stronger partnerships with local areas

Starting in May 2025, Airbnb began offering "Experiences" and "Services" categories alongside its traditional "Stays" offering, and subsequently expanded these services in May 2026. In addition to airport transfers, car rental arrangements, and pre-purchase of groceries, Airbnb has introduced a luggage storage service through a partnership with Bounce; this service is available in 175 cities worldwide and is already operational in Tokyo.

Also, Airbnb has upgraded its app, introducing a feature that uses AI to summarize and display review content.

Nakagawa said, “We are evolving from an accommodation booking platform to a platform supporting the entire travel.”

Nakagawa emphasized the importance of collaborating with local communities. Citing ‘Airbnb Schools,’ which is a program where local governments help train Airbnb hosts, as an example, he stressed, “Airbnb is committed to activities for local communities  to embrace home-sharing itself and to share the benefits from them.”

He also mentioned the moves by some local governments to further regulate private lodging, saying, “Regulations can serve as a catalyst for increasing the number of operators who manage home-sharing responsibly. At the same time, however, we need to carefully consider whether these regulations will actually lead to positive outcomes. As a responsible platform, Airbnb intends to continue working collaboratively with government authorities on this matter.”

Nakagawa showed his vision: “We want 'Airbnb' to be a name that naturally comes to mind for Japanese people when they are planning a trip or considering a way to earn additional income.”