Fukuoka's Island City land not selling
In a similar fashion to Yokohama's Minato Mirai district, Fukuoka City's manmade island is also running at a huge loss.
According to the city, the deficit at the time of the project completion was 18 billion Yen (23.4 million USD). In 2009, the city had forecast land sales to result in a 12.5 billion Yen positive balance. However, poor economic conditions meant that land values fell from 13,000 to 10,000 Yen/sqm, plunging the project into the red.Read more
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
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
Tepco finds buyer for Suginami sports ground
Suginami-ku announced plans to purchase a 4.3 hectare sports ground in Shimotakaido 2 Chome from troubled Tepco. The Tokyo ward has included the 6 billion Yen acquisition cost in their 2012 budget.
The sports ground includes tennis courts, a baseball field and a running track. Tepco had previously leased the grounds to the ward for local residents to use.Read more
Any buyers? Minato Mirai's deficit difficulties lead to last minute sales tactics
Commission for anyone who can sell the remaining land in Minato Mirai.
Minato Mirai 21 (MM) is a 186 hectare waterfront business district in Yokohama, and is home to the Yokohama Landmark Tower. The land reclamation (40% of the area) and urban renewal project began in 1983, but there are still some large parcels of undeveloped land that the city is desperately trying to sell.Read more
Tsunami-hit homeowners to receive 80% of former land values
The town of Shinchi in Fukushima Prefecture will soon begin the process of buying up land in coastal areas from residents who have been displaced from the March 11 tsunami. This is the first town to announce official plans and set purchase values.
The land will be purchased at 80% of the government assessed land values (koji-chika) that were valued prior to the disaster.
There are five towns and cities along the tsunami-hit coastline, incuding Minamisoma, Soma, Iwaki, Hirano and Shinchi, that plan to relocate residents to higher ground. In Shinchi, 500 homes were fully or partially destroyed by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.Read more