Matsuzakaya Ginza Department Store to close after 89 years

The Matsuzakaya Ginza Department Store will close its doors on June 30 as the site it occupies is going to be redeveloped.

The department store opened in Ginza the year following the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, and is the oldest department store in the famed shopping district. At the height of Japan's bubble in 1990, annual sales reached 54 billion Yen. However, revenues began to drop due to growing competition from other department stores, including Mitsukoshi, Matsuya and Printemps Ginza, and an influx of fast fashion retailers.  By 2013, sales were down to 10.2 billion Yen. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Office vacancy rates in April - Miki Shoji

According to Miki Shoji's Office Report for April, 2013, vacancy rates improved but rents continued to fall. The office vacancy rate in Tokyo's central business districts (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) dropped by 0.02 points to 8.54%. This is the second month of decline. The vacancy rate in brand new buildings was 17.31%, down 5.93 points from last month. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Office vacancy rates in March - Miki Shoji

According to Miki Shoji's Office Report for March 2013, the vacancy rate in Tokyo's central business districts of Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya dropped by 0.01 points to 8.56%.

In Chiyoda-ku, the vacancy rate dropped 0.07 points to 6.59% as tenants began to move into recently completed Ochanomizu Sola City and existing buildings saw tenants combine their business operations in one space. Read more

by Zoe Ward

Chongryon Headquarters purchased by religious organisation

*Update: Chief Priest Ekan Ikeguchi of Buddhist temple Saifukuji announced at a press conference on May 10 that he can no longer purchase the building as the temple was unable to obtain financing. As a result, he will lose his 500 million Yen deposit and be banned from bidding on the building when it goes up for auction again this summer.*

A Kagoshima-based religious organisation made the highest bid to purchase the Chongryon Headquarters / North Korean Embassy in Tokyo's Chiyoda-ku. Saifukuji - a part of the Shingon Buddhism sect - bid 4.519 billion Yen (48 million USD) for the property.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Office vacancy rates in February - Miki Shoji

According to Miki Shoji's Tokyo Office Report, the average office vacancy rate in Tokyo's central five wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku and Shibuya) in February was 8.57% - up 0.01 points from the previous month but 0.58 points lower than February 2012.

Three new office buildings were completed in February, but due to their relatively high occupancy rates the new supply had only a minor effect on the total vacancy rate.Read more

by Zoe Ward

A look at the demolition of the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka

The demolition of the 140m tall Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka is underway with the building now standing at three-quarters of its original height. 

The work is being carried out by a joint venture between Taisei Corporation and Seibu Construction using the 'Taisei Ecological Reproduction System' (Teco-Rep System).  Assistant Director of Taisei's Construction Engineering Development Department, Mr. Hideki Ichihara, explains the process:Read more

by Zoe Ward

Chiyoda-ku office bldg sold for 50 billion Yen

Tokyu Land, the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) and Kenedix have purchased the former head office of the Shinsei Bank in Chiyoda-ku from a Morgan Stanley fund for 50 billion Yen (605 million USD) - less than half what Morgan Stanley paid for it in 2008.

The new owners plan to demolish the 19-year old building and replace it with a new one. The total cost of the project, including purchasing the existing building, is estimated at 80 billion Yen (970 million USD).

Demolition will commence in 2013 and the new 20-storey building will be completed in 2017. The new building will have a total floor area of 57,500 sqm, and will be almost the same scale as the current building, which is 60,000 sqm. However, the new building will have more leasable floor space.Read more

by Zoe Ward