Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.
The Community You Will Join:
Airbnb’s Legal team embodies the company’s innovative, forward-thinking spirit. At the frontier of the sharing economy, Airbnb is breaking new ground in matters of policy, law, and government relations. Where some see obstacles, we see the opportunity to find creative, practical solutions, right at the cutting edge. Our adventurous, fast-moving legal team is committed to building a team of talented, collaborative and self-motivated legal professionals across the globe who believe in Airbnb’s mission and leading as a 21st century company.
The Difference You Will Make:
We are in search of an Associate Legal Counsel for Japan.This role reports to the Associate General Counsel - Northeast Asia and serves as legal partner to many other teams outside Legal. Collaboration will be a key attribute as this role will work very closely with the other members of the legal team both in the region and globally.
This role needs to be based in Japan. Any location in Japan is welcomed. Living in Tokyo or the greater Kanto area, with the ability to commute to the Tokyo office, is a plus. Candidates based elsewhere in Japan will need to travel to the Tokyo office roughly once or twice a month, as needed.
A Typical Day:
- Act as an effective and trusted partner to the fast-paced and high-performing Airbnb team.
- Deliver clear, effective and practical legal advice to the various business functions. These include business development, public policy, marketing and communications.
- Legal advice includes regulatory matters, consumer protection, competition, marketing, employment, privacy, dispute resolution, and law enforcement.
- Be adept in making sensible legal risk assessments which consider practical solutions to mitigate legal risk whilst keeping business priorities at the forefront.
Your Expertise:
- Qualification in Japan (as bengoshi) is a must.
- Native-level command of Japanese (written and spoken) is a must.
- Business-level English (written and spoken) is essential. High scores in standardized tests (TOEIC/TOEFL) is a plus.
- Minimum 2years post-qualification experience - In-house (including secondment from a law firm) in an MNC and/or start-up is a plus.
- Consistently delivers creative, thoughtful and business-oriented results that appropriately balance growth and risk.
- Tech-forward mindset with a proactive willingness to leverage AI tools to optimize legal productivity.
- Team player, highly collaborative with excellent communication and listening skills.
- Proactive owner who takes initiative while navigating competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Empathetic, caring and humble.
- Occasional travel may be required: domestic travel to the Tokyo office roughly once or twice a month for candidates based outside the Kanto area, and international travel typically once a year for a few days. We give full consideration to individual circumstances and family commitments
Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:
Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.
Reasonable Accommodations: We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process for applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance, or an accommodation, please let your recruiter know once you are contacted about a role.
A Note on Recruiting Scams: Scammers sometimes pose as Airbnb recruiters to get money or personal information from candidates. A few things that will always be true for Airbnb’s hiring process: our open roles are posted on Airbnb’s Career’s Page at careers.airbnb.com, and our recruiters correspond only from @airbnb.com or @ext.airbnb.com email addresses. Our recruiters will never ask for your Social Security number, bank account details, passport, or payment app information while you are interviewing. We’ll also never ask you to pay a fee, send money, deposit or cash a check, or purchase work-related equipment (such as a company laptop) during the interview process. We encourage candidates to remain vigilant of these recruiting scams and not share sensitive information if you do not believe an individual is actually affiliated with Airbnb.
Skills Required
- Qualification in Japan as a bengoshi
- Native-level Japanese proficiency, written and spoken
- Business-level English proficiency, written and spoken
- At least two years of post-qualification legal experience
- In-house experience at a multinational corporation or startup, including law-firm secondment experience
- Experience using AI tools to improve legal productivity
- Ability to travel domestically to the Tokyo office and internationally as needed
Airbnb Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Airbnb and has not been reviewed or approved by Airbnb.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay ranges and total compensation components are increasingly disclosed, and country-level pay practices avoid location-based cuts, which feedback suggests improves consistency and perceived fairness.
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Healthcare Strength — Comprehensive core health coverage for employees, mental health resources, and substantial dependent support are repeatedly highlighted as robust and a standout element of the package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO, a winter shutdown, sabbaticals, and paid volunteer time are described as extensive, with parental leave and phased return options reinforcing time-off flexibility.
Airbnb Insights
What We Do
Airbnb is a community based on connection and belonging—a community that was born in 2008 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to 4 million hosts who have welcomed over 800 million guest arrivals to about 100,000 cities in almost every country and region across the globe. Hosts on Airbnb are everyday people who share their worlds to provide guests with the feeling of connection and being at home. At Airbnb, we believe that hosts, guests and the communities where we operate are all stakeholders we have a responsibility to serve, and that by serving them alongside our employees and investors, we will build an enduringly successful company.
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