Announcing 1 month office closure

We wish to inform our clients and readers that we are going to be temporarily closing our office from April 11 through to May 6 as we join those who are voluntarily staying home to help slow the spread of this pandemic. This has been a difficult decision, but we feel it is the most responsible thing to do at this time.

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Tateshina Highlands holiday homes see boost in wake of coronavirus panic

With a growing number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the greater Tokyo area and a recently-declared state of emergency, some city residents are escaping to holiday home areas. One district that has seen a resurgence in popularity is the Yatsugatake Nanroku / Tateshina Highland holiday home area. 

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70% of real estate companies report impact from coronavirus fears

Earlier in March, real estate information provider Lifull conducted a survey of 925 real estate companies to see how the coronavirus situation was affecting them. Over 70% reported that their operations were already being impacted, while 91.9% were concerned about the future effects that this virus would have on their business activities.

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Foreign investors keep their distance from Niseko

The winter ski resort district of Niseko in Hokkaido has been home to the highest land price increases in Japan for the past few years as it undergoes a rapid change into a high-class ski destination for Asia’s wealthy. However, the boom times may have come to a crashing halt as the novel coronavirus wreaks havoc with the tourist-dependent town.

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Business mood in real estate sector sees biggest drop since 2011 earthquake

The general business mood in March has worsened for the six month in a row according to credit research firm Teikoku Databank. The diffusion index (DI) of confidence from a survey of 11,330 companies across various industries dropped 6.2 points from February to 32.5. A month-on-month drop of this magnitude has not been seen since April 2014 which recorded a 4.2 point decline.

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Research firm releases early Corona-Shock report on Japan’s hotel industry

Tokyo Shoko Research released a report on March 18 on the current impacts the coronavirus is having on Japan’s hotel industry. We are only two months into the crisis and listed companies are one-by-one lowering their earnings estimates for the year.

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