Tokyo Office Rentals: Pandemic-Era Insights by Building Size

Office rental data published by Sanko Estate illustrates how different sized buildings fared during the pandemic. Given the overwhelming number of small and medium sized companies in Tokyo, this can impact the sub-sectors of the office market in different ways.Read more


Foreigners acquire 90ha of farmland in Japan in 2023

Foreigners and potentially foreign-directed domestic companies acquired 90.6 hectares of farmland in Japan last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. But, the majority of those acquisitions were made by foreign resident farmers, not offshore funds.Read more


Luxury rental apartment project near Canal City paused

Plans for a luxury mixed-use development next-door to Fukuoka’s Canal City might be put on hold due to a labor shortage and rising construction costs. The now-closed Canal City Hakata East Building opened in 2011 as a retail complex. Initially, tenants included many international fast fashion brands.Read more


REIT acquires student housing in Tokyo

A J-REIT is acquiring the trust beneficiary rights to a 182-unit purpose-built student accommodation asset in Tokyo from its sponsor at a cap rate of 4.07%.Read more


Free rent on the rise in the office leasing sector

Although office vacancy rates in Tokyo have been shrinking and rents appear to be recovering from a recent low, incentives, such as free rental periods, are on the rise. This might indicate some continued softness in the office market sector.Read more


Kitakyushu next in line for semiconductor boom?

Kyushu may have a new hotspot, with Taiwan-based Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. (ASE) signing a provisional purchase agreement on land in Kitakyushu on July 31. The site offers good access to water, logistics infrastructure, and a pool of talent in the science and tech sectors.Read more


18,000 m2 Toranomon office building sells for 860 million Yen

Nippon Building Fund (NBF) has sold a 61-year old office building in Toranomon back to its sponsor, Mitsui Fudosan, for just 860 million Yen (US$5.5 million). This may seem like a remarkably low price, considering the REIT paid 13.3 billion Yen for it in 2004, and there’s a good explanation.Read more