APA Hotel Controversy: The Book and Why I Stay Elsewhere

Open the desk drawer in many APA Hotel rooms in Japan and, next to the usual hotel guide, you may find a book with the founder’s name on the spine. In January 2017 one of those books went viral, and the APA hotel controversy became an international story: China’s tourism authority called for a boycott, sports officials moved athletes to another hotel, and APA said it would not remove the books. Here is what the APA hotel book says (in summary), what happened in 2017, what we know about the situation today, and how to choose a hotel in Japan with all of that in mind. I also explain, clearly labelled as my personal opinion, why I choose not to stay at APA.

What APA Hotels Actually Is (and Why It Is Everywhere)

If you have walked around any Japanese city near a train station, you have almost certainly seen an APA Hotel. The APA Group is a Tokyo based hotel and real estate developer, and its hotel network is widely described as the largest in Japan by number of rooms. APA’s own website listed 986 hotels and 130,086 rooms in its network as of 17 November 2025, a figure that includes partner hotels. Industry outlets such as Skift and Propmodo described a global network of more than 1,100 hotels and close to 150,000 rooms once overseas properties are counted, most of them in Japan. Toyoko Inn is usually named as the number two.

The company was founded in 1971 by Toshio Motoya. His wife, Fumiko Motoya, became president of APA Hotel in 1994 and is famous in Japan as the face of the brand: her photo, always with a large hat, appears on signs and posters across the country and on products sold in the hotels.

APA is a classic Japanese business hotel chain. I explain the category in my guide on how hotels are ranked in Japan. The idea: small, clean, efficient rooms near a station, built for people on work trips.

Room size and price: what you actually get

APA rooms are small even by Tokyo standards. On APA’s official hotel pages, standard single and double rooms are often listed at about 10 to 11 square metres, twins at roughly 13 to 19 square metres, and the larger deluxe rooms at around 20 to 29 square metres depending on the property.

Prices change daily with demand, so there is no single APA price. For context: MetroEngines data reported by Hotelbank put the average estimated rate for Tokyo business hotels at about 14,300 yen per night over the previous 12 months, and Tokyo Shoko Research found that nine budget hotel brands averaged about 14,463 yen in the fiscal year to March 2026 (reported by Travel Voice). Quiet weeknights outside the centre are cheaper; peak seasons cost much more. My Japan trip cost guide shows how accommodation fits into a full budget.

Who Was Toshio Motoya?

Toshio Motoya built APA from a small housing company into one of Japan’s biggest hotel groups and became one of the country’s best known businessmen. He was also an essayist with strong nationalist views on Japanese history, which he published under the pen name Seiji Fuji.

According to APA Group’s announcement, reported in February 2026, Toshio Motoya died on 11 February 2026 at the age of 82. In recent years his eldest son has led the group as president and CEO, while Fumiko Motoya has remained president of APA Hotel.

The APA Hotel Book: What It Argues, in Plain Terms

The APA hotel book at the centre of the 2017 story is usually cited in English as Theoretical Modern History: The Real History of Japan (some outlets refer to a second volume with a similar title). Motoya wrote it under his pen name, and it was printed in Japanese and English. Reuters and The Japan Times reported in January 2017 that copies were placed in the guest rooms of the chain’s hotels, more than 400 at the time, and that the books were also sold.

In summary, the books argue two things that drew the strongest criticism:

• The Nanjing Massacre. The books claim that the killings of civilians and prisoners by Japanese troops after the capture of Nanjing in December 1937 did not happen as described, and call the accounts a fabrication. The massacre is widely documented by historians and was examined at the postwar Tokyo tribunal. Japan’s own Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the killing of a large number of non-combatants and looting by the Japanese army after it entered Nanjing cannot be denied, while noting that views differ on the number of victims.
• The so-called comfort women. The books deny that women were forcibly recruited for military brothels during the war. Historians and the governments of South Korea and China, among others, regard the coercion of these women as historical fact, and the Japanese government acknowledged the military’s involvement and apologised in the 1993 Kono Statement.

I will not quote the books here. For a traveller the point is simple: these are the founder’s personal views, presented as history, placed in rooms where guests sleep. If you want the wider historical background, my article on colonialism in Japan covers the period in a more general way.

January 2017: How the APA Hotel Controversy Went Global

The books had been in APA rooms for years, but few people outside Japan talked about them. That changed in mid January 2017, when two students who had stayed at an APA hotel in Tokyo posted a video on Chinese social media showing passages from the book. The Japan Times reported on 18 January 2017 that the video had spread widely on Weibo within days.

What followed, step by step:

• Booking platforms reacted first. Chinese travel site Tuniu said it had removed APA hotels from its listings on 16 January 2017. Within a week, Caixin and Reuters reported that APA no longer appeared on several large Chinese platforms, including Ctrip, Qunar and Alibaba’s Fliggy.
• The Chinese government condemned the books. On 24 January 2017, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular press briefing that China would never tolerate attempts to distort history. The same day, the China National Tourism Administration asked all outbound travel companies and online platforms to end cooperation with APA, as Reuters, CNN and CNBC reported.
• APA held its position. APA said in statements on its website that the book presented the author’s own views and was not intended to criticise any specific country, and that it would not remove the books, citing freedom of speech. The Japan Times reported on 25 January 2017 that the chain would keep the books despite the calls for a boycott.
• Protests in Tokyo. On 5 February 2017, around 200 people marched through Shinjuku in protest against the chain, according to news agency reports.

The Sapporo Asian Winter Games episode

The timing could hardly have been worse for APA. The APA Hotel and Resort in Sapporo had been chosen to house athletes at the 2017 Asian Winter Games, held from 19 to 26 February. After requests from the Olympic Council of Asia and the Chinese Olympic Committee, The Japan Times reported on 31 January 2017 that Chinese athletes would not stay there. The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee then made the same decision for its roughly 170 athletes, and both delegations were moved to the Sapporo Prince Hotel (The Japan Times, February 2017).

After a written request from the organisers, APA agreed to remove all printed materials, including the book, from guest rooms at the Sapporo hotel for the duration of the Games, as Reuters reported in February 2017. It was a temporary measure at one hotel, not a change of policy.

In June 2017 The Japan Times reported that APA did not plan to remove the books for the Tokyo Olympics either. A short follow up came in November 2017, when Chinese media reported that APA hotels had briefly reappeared on Qunar and Meituan and were taken down again after online complaints.

APA’s Side of the Story

To be fair to APA, its position has been consistent. The company argued that the books express the author’s personal opinion, that history is seen differently from country to country, that guests are not required to read anything in the room, and that removing the books under outside pressure would go against freedom of expression. Fumiko Motoya was quoted in 2017 saying the controversy had no impact on business.

Supporters also point out that this is legal in Japan, which does not ban historical denial the way some European countries do. Critics, including historians quoted in Japanese and international media in 2017, argued that freedom of speech does not oblige anyone to give a platform, in every room, to claims that contradict the historical record and the Japanese government’s own stated position.

Are the Books Still in APA Rooms Today?

Honest answer: it is not fully clear. Almost all reputable reporting on the books dates from 2017. I could not find a Reuters, BBC, Guardian, NYT, Japan Times, AP or Nikkei report from recent years confirming either that the books are still placed in every room or that APA has removed them. Coverage of Motoya’s death in February 2026 did not report a change of policy either. Guest reports online suggest the books can still be found in at least some rooms, but those are individual accounts, not verified reporting.

So if this matters to you, the safest approach is to assume nothing has changed unless APA announces it, and to ask the hotel directly.

I first heard about the controversy because it is discussed a lot, and many people warn others about this hotel chain.

My Personal Opinion: Why I Do Not Stay at APA Hotels

Everything above is the factual part. This section is my personal opinion.

I personally choose not to stay at APA hotels because of the books placed in the rooms. In my view, they spread claims about Japanese history and the Second World War that are simply not true, claims that the weight of historical research, and even the Japanese government, does not support. I lived in Tokyo for three years while studying at Waseda, and I love Japan. That is exactly why it bothers me. Putting the founder’s version of history in the rooms, where travellers from China, Korea and everywhere else sleep, feels to me like the opposite of the hospitality Japan is rightly famous for.

That does not mean giving hotel staff a hard time. The person at the front desk did not write the book. But where I spend my own money is my choice, and I choose not to spend it at APA.

For me it is simply not acceptable to deny the murder of so many people. That is why I boycott APA Hotel and do not give this company my money.

How to Decide for Yourself

If you are planning a trip and APA comes up as the cheapest option near your station, these are the questions worth asking:

• Does the book matter to you? For some travellers it is a dealbreaker, for others a footnote. Both are valid. Just make the choice knowingly.
• Is the price difference real? Compare the same date and area across two or three chains; the gap is often small.
• How much space do you need? If you travel as a couple with two large suitcases, a 10 square metre room will feel tight whichever chain it belongs to. Check the room size in square metres on the booking page, not just the bed type.

To pick a neighbourhood first, my guides on where to stay in Tokyo and where to stay in Kyoto and Osaka help you narrow things down before you compare hotels.

Good Alternatives to APA Hotels in Japan

Most Japanese cities have several business hotel chains near the main station. A general overview (features vary by property):

The chains I have stayed at myself and can recommend are Toyoko Inn, Prince Hotels and Mitsui Garden. Prince Hotels and Mitsui Garden in particular are great if you want a bit more comfort.

Why This Story Still Matters for Travellers

Many visitors to Japan come from China, South Korea and Taiwan, and the way the war is remembered still shapes politics and relationships across the region. That is why the APA hotel controversy made headlines across Asia, and why some travellers care where they book. It is part of understanding the country, in the same way my Japan culture guide tries to explain the everyday side.

Chinese friends of mine brought up APA themselves. For many of my Korean friends, Japan’s wartime history is still a very sensitive topic, and stories like this one are a big reason why.

Frequently Asked Questions

Whatever you decide, Japan has no shortage of clean, comfortable and affordable hotels. Start with the right area using my guide on where to stay in Tokyo, and use how hotels are ranked in Japan to understand exactly what you are booking.