You see a paper headed 騒音についてのお願い on your apartment noticeboard or receive one in your mailbox. Does it accuse you? A building-wide notice often asks all residents to be considerate; check whether it names your room, a particular incident, a time period or a request for a reply before assuming it is addressed to you alone.
Japanese words to recognize
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 騒音についてのお願い | そうおんについてのおねがい (sōon ni tsuite no onegai) | Request concerning noise |
| 生活音 | せいかつおん (seikatsu-on) | Everyday household sounds |
| 近隣住民・上下階 | きんりんじゅうみん・じょうげかい (kinrin jūmin / jōge-kai) | Neighbors / floors above and below |
| 足音・話し声 | あしおと・はなしごえ (ashioto / hanashigoe) | Footsteps / voices |
| 深夜・早朝 | しんや・そうちょう (shin’ya / sōchō) | Late night / early morning |
| お控えください | おひかえください (ohikae kudasai) | Please refrain from doing it |
| ご配慮・ご協力 | ごはいりょ・ごきょうりょく (gohairyō / gokyōryoku) | Consideration / cooperation |
| 管理会社・管理組合 | かんりがいしゃ・かんりくみあい (kanri gaisha / kanri kumiai) | Management company / owners’ association |
Is it a general reminder or a direct request?
Look at where you found it and whom it addresses. 入居者の皆様へ (to all residents) on a shared board is a general request. A letter with your room number and a request to contact the manager needs an individual response. Neither the presence of a general notice nor sound heard from a particular direction proves which home caused it. Sound can travel through floors and walls; UR’s guide to apartment noise describes footsteps, doors and appliances as possible transmitted sounds.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism provides a life-noise handout intended for display in apartment entrances and near elevators. A building notice may therefore be a broad reminder following a concern, even when no particular apartment is named.
If the notice asks everyone to reduce noise
- Read the specific examples and hours. If the paper gives quiet hours, follow those and the building’s house rules; do not assume there is one nationwide apartment curfew.
- Consider the activities it mentions: footsteps, moving furniture, late-night calls, washing machines or doors. Small adjustments such as lowering volume and avoiding avoidable impacts at sensitive hours can help. The MLIT guidance on household sound focuses on awareness and practical ways to reduce sound reaching neighbors.
- Keep a photo of the notice if you later need to ask what it meant. You do not normally need to identify or confront a neighbor over a general posting.
If you received a direct complaint or are disturbed by noise
If a manager contacts your room, ask what kind of sound was reported and approximately when. You can explain your situation without assuming the source is certain. If you are the person hearing repeated noise, record the dates, times, type of sound and duration, then describe the issue to the property manager or landlord. UR identifies a rental building’s management company and a condominium’s management association as typical first contacts. Their response and the applicable rules vary by building; the manager may begin with a general notice. See UR’s guidance on whom to contact.
If you feel unsafe because of threats or an immediate incident, use the appropriate emergency channel. For an ordinary ongoing building issue, avoid approaching a neighbor in anger. If a fault in a door or appliance is causing unusual noise, see how to report an apartment repair.
Short Japanese phrases
- このお知らせは全世帯向けですか。 Kono oshirase wa zen-setai muke desu ka. — Is this notice for all households?
- 何時ごろ、どのような音でしょうか。 Nanji goro, dono yō na oto deshō ka. — Around what time, and what kind of sound was it?
- 夜間の生活音に気をつけます。 Yakan no seikatsu-on ni ki o tsukemasu. — I will be mindful of household noise at night.
- 騒音について管理会社に相談したいです。 Sōon ni tsuite kanri gaisha ni sōdan shitai desu. — I would like to consult the management company about noise.
For another common building notice that may require a reply or access to your home, see our drain cleaning notice guide. For the broader rental journey, start with our Japanese apartment guide.
