Hi all,
Just had an atrocious experience with Live Max Monthly Apartment rental: [https://www.weekly-monthly.net](https://www.weekly-monthly.net)
In a nutshell, they told me the person renting (foreigners including tourists are ok to rent) must provide a Japanese national as the emergency contact/guarantor. Non-Japanese visa holders including permanent residents are not acceptable.
I’ve dealt with the inherent racism through Japan’s real estate system many times throughout the 15 years I’ve lived here (usually old landlords frightened foreigners can’t speak the language or separate rubbish, and it can often be solved by discussion), but this was a new level of rude, and it wasn’t an individual landlord – it was the company policy.
I speak fluent Japanese and was questioning them on the phone, suggesting that a Permanent Resident could also act as the guarantor/emergency contact being on the same level as any Japanese person, but they flat out refused, got angry with me when I started questioning the legality of such a request, and hung up the phone saying they had no intention of making a contract with me if I couldn’t provide a Japanese national’s details.
It’s clearly discrimination, but does it actually violate Japanese law? I personally feel it’s high time companies pushing these practices need to be held accountable in a court and the whole industry refreshed, especially if Japan continues towards internationalisation.
by Gakuranman