Airbnb vs. Japan

This article hit close to home for me because:

1) I just had my first Airbnb experience2) My honeymoon in Japan was one of the most amazing experiences of my life

The article deals with the challenges that Airbnb is facing in Japan. It is one market where the company is really struggling to establish itself. The theory presented in the article is that Japanese are not particularly hospitable to outsiders and thus are not eager to open up homes and apartments to tourists.

It provides fodder for an interesting thought experiment. If Airbnb came to us for help in solving this riddle, what kind of study would we design? Who would we talk to? What would we ask them?