Gunma also targeting foreign buyers of forestry
On February 8, the Gunma prefectural governor held a press conference to announce that they are considering introducing regulations to help preserve the forestry and natural water sources in the area.
This follows on from similar movements by other prefectural governments, including Hokkaido and Saitama, who are starting to monitor the purchase of large tracts of forest by foreign buyers.Read more
Farmer donates land to Kashiwa City
A farmer in Kashiwa City, Chiba, has donated a 5350sqm block of land to the city to be used for a children's playground and as an emergency evacuation site.
The land has a market value of approximately 640 million Yen (8.3 million USD). It is 700 meters from JR Minami Kashiwa Station and is adjacent to the Shintomicho residential neighborhood.
Mr. Ryoichi Iinuma's request is that the land is used for the benefit of the community and is not subdivided. The block adjoins Mr. Iinuma's home and is currently planted with chestnut trees.Read more
Apartments for wine lovers in Shibuya
Apartment developer, Inovv Inc, announced plans for a new residential building in Shinsencho, Shibuya-ku, that will be designed for wine aficionados.
Construction of the tentatively titled "Shibuya Shinsen Wine Apartment Project" will start in May 2012. The 10-storey building will have 18 studio apartments ranging from 42 to 45 sqm (452 ~ 484 sqft). Apartments will be available for rent only, and will not be available for individual sale.Read more
3480 homes completely destroyed in Kanto area following Tohoku disaster
An investigation by the Tokyo Shimbun has found that as many as 3480 homes in the Kanto area were completely destroyed in the Tohoku disaster. A further 2815 homes were partially destroyed and will need to be demolished. In some areas, the number of partially destroyed homes equalled the number that were completely destroyed.
Homeowners may be eligible to receive a maximum of 3 million Yen as compensation, but high construction costs mean that very few homes are being rebuilt. It has been almost 11 months since the disaster and the full extent of the damage is only now coming to the surface.Read more
Grosvenor purchases Roppongi Arents
Grosvenor, an international property development group, announced that they purchased Roppongi Arents from Japan Tobacco in October 2011. JT had listed the building for sale at the end of 2010.
Roppongi Arents is a luxury residential apartment building built in 2003. The 4400 sqm site adjoins the Roppongi Hills development. Apartments range in size from 88.45 to 288.77 sqm (951 ~ 3107 sqft) and can be rented for between 470,000 and 2,200,000 Yen/month.Read more
Saitama to keep close watch on forestry purchases by foreigners
In order to better understand the scope of the purchase of forestry by foreign funds and to protect water sources, Saitama Prefecture is planning to introduce rules which will require land transactions to be reported in advance to authorities.
The proposal will target 18 cities and towns in the northern part of Saitama. It will be submitted to the prefectural assembly this month, and may be enacted as early as October of this year.
Similar legislation is also going to be presented to the Diet session later this month, but it does not specifically mention foreign capital.Read more