Friend wants to sublet his apartment to me, what should I pay attention to?

Since my friends’ apartment is in a more central area of Tokyo, I would like to take the opportunity to move closer to work.

As they will be gone for at least a few months, and I am not sure yet if I will be leaving Japan next year, this seems to be an ideal setup as I would be quite flexible being able to decide in Spring if I want to stay longer, do not have to pay all the initial fees normally associated with moving into a new flat in Japan, and they do not have to pay for an empty and unused flat.

Now from what I found out, subletting seems quite uncommon in Japan. With that in mind what are the things one should be aware of? Has any of you rented a subletted flat in Japan/Tokyo before?

One of the things that come to mind would be reregistering at the new ward. Also, what if for example a neighbor noticed and complained? What if he just officially let me stay at his place as a friend, or to check on the flat regularly, and for example I just stay registered at my current ward?

Thanks in advance for any help, it is greatly appreciated!

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