Rent a house in a UNESCO World Heritage area for just 10,000 Yen/month

A 88-year old house in Gokayama has been listed for rent at just 10,000 Yen/month (127 USD) in a bid by Nanto City to entice families to the area.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Uenoshita Dojunkai Apartments to be demolished

The last remaining 'dojunkai' apartment building, Uenoshita Apartments, will be demolished next year to make way for a new 14 storey condominium developed by Mitsubishi Jisho Residence.

The head of Taito-ku gave approval on October 9 for the formation of the reconstruction committee.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Hokkaido facing difficult task of regulating transactions on forestry

Regulations requiring advance notification of the sale of land containing a water source came into effect on October 1st, but Hokkaido is already facing the difficult task of identifying and contacting land owners.

In Hokkaido, 53 areas were designated for water resource preservation. Correspondence has been sent to the 4,000 affected land owners, but only 60% could be contacted. The whereabouts of the remaining land owners remains unknown.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Interest in uninhabited islands skyrockets following Senkaku dispute

There are growing calls for regulation of the sale of Japan's islands as interest from buyers is booming following the latest saga in the Senkaku / Diayu Island dispute.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Golf courses converted to solar farms across Japan

The Japanese government recently introduced a system whereby electric utility operators are obligated to purchase electricity produced by solar farms and other renewable sources at fixed prices. The system started on July 1, 2012. In order to benefit from the program, suppliers must obtain approval by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

Under the feed-in tariff (FIT), utilities will enter into 20-year terms with solar power suppliers. The purchase price of solar power is expected to be set at 42 Yen per kilowatt-hour.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Average apartment prices in Tokyo down 13.5% in August

According to research by AtHome, the average realized sale price of a secondhand apartment in greater Tokyo was 19,750,000 Yen in August, down 6.4% from the year before and 5.9% from last month. This is the first time in 2 years and 8 months that the price has fallen below the 20 million Yen mark.

The drop was particularly noticeable in Tokyo's 23 wards where sale prices fell 13.5% from one year prior, and 12.1% from the previous month. The average price per square meter in Tokyo's 23 wards fell 8% from last year to 446,100 Yen/smq, while in Chiba, it dropped 21.1% to 195,400 Yen/sqm. The average age of an apartment sold in greater Tokyo was 23.5 years.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Four arrested over land swindle in Minamiazabu

Four people from a suspected land swindling group (a practice known as jimenshi) were arrested in Tokyo after being accused of stealing 370 million Yen.Read more

by Zoe Ward