Japan’s biggest building-to-be just got a little bigger
The trillion-Yen Tokiwabashi Project, under development by Mitsubishi Estate near Tokyo Station, has had an exterior redesign and a few floors added. With an expected height of 390 meters, this will be Japan’s tallest building when completed in 2027.
Office vacancies worsen for 5th month
Tokyo’s office vacancy rate worsened for the fifth month in a row in July as the commercial sector feels the pain of the coronavirus pandemic. According to office brokerage Miki Shoji, the office vacancy rate in Tokyo’s five business districts reached 2.77% in July, up 0.80 points from the previous month, and up 1.06 points from last year. This is the highest vacancy rate seen since March 2018 when it was 2.80%, and the highest monthly jump since the company began recording data in 2002.
Apparel company sells flagship Ginza building
On July 17, apparel giant Sanyo Shokai announced the sale of their flagship building in Ginza. Temporary store closures during the pandemic have hit the brick-and-mortar retail sector hard, with some cashing out of their real estate holdings to shore up cash reserves. Real estate developers are having a field day as struggling companies reach out to offload long-held and highly-prized assets.
260m tall twin-tower project for Shinjuku Station
Two 260-meter tall high-rise towers are rumored for Shinjuku Station. If completed, they would exceed the height of the nearby 243-meter Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
Commercial real estate transactions emerge from slump
There are already signs that some sectors of the real estate market are emerging from the pandemic-induced slump, with the total commercial transaction value in June recovering by a considerable amount from the record low seen in May.
Fujitsu plans to halve office space
Fujitsu is planning to reduce its office space by as much as 50% over the next three years as the company prepares for a permanent shift to telecommuting.
Son sells Tiffany Building in Ginza
As part of their expansion in investment in the Ginza district, real estate company HULIC has acquired the Tiffany Ginza Building from SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son this month. This was a joint purchase with Fuyo General Lease, a Mizuho Financial Group company.