Airbnb has sent "master of disaster", lawyer and political strategist Chris Lehane to Japan to smooth ruffled feathers as regulators debate whether to "clamp down" on the start-up. The move follows a recent visit by co-founder Joe Gebbia, who praised Tokyo's "contributions to entrepreneurship". In an interview with Bloomberg, Mr Leihan said he was concerned about how Japan's new rules would affect his company's ability to operate in Japan. Japanese law does not currently target rentals, called minpaku, and the authorities have several options, including loosening regulation and creating a two-tiered system.
Airbnb has sent "master of disaster", lawyer and political strategist Chris Lehane to Japan to smooth ruffled feathers as regulators debate whether to "clamp down" on the start-up. The move follows a recent visit by co-founder Joe Gebbia, who praised Tokyo's "contributions to entrepreneurship". Airbnb generated JPY 236.3bn ($2.2bn) in revenue in 2015 as listings grew four-fold, with 1.38m guests accommodated. Japanese law does not currently target rentals, called minpaku, and the authorities have several options, including loosening regulation and creating a two-tiered system.