Poorly managed apartment buildings of concern in Tokyo
Apartment buildings do not magically care for themselves. They require the apartment owners to be proactive about ensuring regular maintenance and repairs are carried out. By doing so, a building can last a long time while also helping with the resale values of those apartments. A poorly maintained building can become unpleasant to live in and resale values can plummet.
Osaka’s leaning apartment buildings ignored for 8 years
On April 27, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported on two neighboring apartment buildings in Osaka that are leaning to the point where they are now touching. One of the buildings was deemed at risk of collapse over 8 years ago, yet the building owner has taken no action. Several tenants continue to live in the buildings.
Residents of luxury Tokyo high-rise ordered to move out
A major construction company is writing up a 9 billion Yen (US$83 million) extraordinary loss after a recently-built high-rise condominium in Tokyo was found to have some interior defects. All residents in the several-hundred unit tower will have to temporarily move out while these issues are repaired.
Majority of wooden homes built before 2000 need earthquake-retrofitting
According to the Japan Wood-frame House Earthquake Reinforcement Business Cooperative, made up of contractors and architects that provide earthquake-retrofitting services, 93% of the 4,000 homes that have had earthquake-resistance inspections carried out over the past 15 years in Tokyo were at risk of collapse in an earthquake that produced a seismic-intensity (shindo) level of upper 6 or higher (*Note: The seismic intensity scale is difference to magnitude). The average age of a house surveyed by the Cooperative was 37 years.
Another real estate company facing mortgage fraud allegations
The Nikkei Shimbun newspaper broke the story of yet another real estate company that is alleged to have been signing up buyers for home loans on investment properties. The news caused the company's share price to plummet by as much as a third in the week following the news report.
Edogawa-ku a no-go zone in event of major flood
The wording on a flood hazard map issued by Edogawa Ward in Tokyo has created a stir with the ward essentially telling residents to get out of town in the event of major flooding.