JR to develop rental office building in Kyushu semiconductor hotspot
Kyushu Railway Company, aka JR Kyushu, is developing a 7-story rental office building near the JR Higo-Ozu Station in Ozu Town, Kumamoto. The building will be an 8-minute drive from the TSMC semiconductor plants and a 2-minute walk from the station. This is JR’s first office project outside of a terminal station city.Read more
Land prices continue to increase across the board
Japan’s land prices increased for the sixth straight quarter, according to the latest LOOK Report published by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT) on August 29.
In the second quarter of 2025, land prices saw a 0 ~ 3% increase in 75 of the 80 surveyed locations, and a 3 ~ 6% increase in five locations. Residential land values increased across all surveyed sites for the 13th consecutive quarter. For commercial land, Yokohama’s Minato Mirai district slowed to a 0 ~ 3% rise after a 3 ~ 6% increase in the first quarter, while Tokyo’s Nakano Station area accelerated to a 3 ~ 6% gain.Read more
Honda announces partial sale of Aoyama HQ
Honda Motor is transferring partial ownership of its Honda Aoyama Building to Mitsui Fudosan Residential, according to a press release issued by the developer on August 29.
The 17-story building sits on a prominent corner above Aoyama Itchome Station and alongside Aoyama Street. It is currently slated for redevelopment with demolition to start shortly, with the new project to be completed by 2030.Read more
Data center opens in abandoned school building
A Tokyo-based cloud service provider has opened a GPU data center inside a former elementary school building in Saga, Kyushu. This is the first school building to data center conversion in Japan. With approximately 450 schools closing across Japan each year, there is a pressing need to find innovative uses for them.Read more
Group seeks temporary court injunction to stop demolition of brutalist gymnasium
On August 26, a group aiming to restore and revitalize the Kenzo Tange-designed Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium in Takamatsu City announced plans to file a provisional injunction with the court seeking a temporary halt to the prefecture’s demolition plans. Constructed in 1964, the boat-shaped brutalist concrete structure is one of Tange’s iconic designs.Read more
Niseko land fraud claim puts town’s water supply at risk
The town of Niseko has found itself in a court battle after a former landowner claimed that a large parcel of land had been sold fraudulently and is now seeking its return. The disputed land covers 16 hectares of forest at the base of Mount Yotei and includes a water source that supplies 80% of the town’s residents. Niseko fears that if the protected land is returned it could then be resold and developed.Read more
Next-gen logistics hub planned for former US Naval facility
Mitsubishi Estate, Tokyu Land, and CRE are jointly developing a 700,000 square meter next-generation logistics facility on a former U.S. Naval facility in Yokohama. The multi-tenant property will be designed to accommodate self-driving trucks.Read more