Kan continues quest to control foreign land ownership in Japan - are legal reforms likely?

There are no restrictions against foreigners purchasing and holding land in Japan.

However, with recent disputes over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands igniting land ownership debates, many seemingly ordinary purchases by foreign capital are now under media scrutiny. This includes the purchase of forests in Hokkaido and the purchase of resort properties by a Korean group near a military base in Nagasaki.

Prime Minster Kan has recently started to raise the point of restricting land ownership in order to protect national interests.

The following is a translation of an article from the Asahi Shimbun, October 26th 2010.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Asakusa Tower to go ahead despite opposition from Sensoji Temple

Asakusa Tower

Asakusa's Sensoji Temple lost their court case against the development of high-rise apartment building under construction less than 400 meters away from the temple. The temple argued that the development went against city plans to limit residential buildings to 5 stories. No reason was given for the ruling against their case.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Japanese Land Values Decline at Slower Rate

A recovery in housing demand is slowing the decline in land values in Japan, according to a survey by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Of the surveyed locations, 45 had no decline in value, with 3 of those sites reporting an increase in value. Compared to results from previous quarters, the total number of locations reporting a decline in values was 70%, down from 82% from the last quarter, and 96% from the quarter before that.

Continue reading the full article at Bloomberg here.

by Zoe Ward

Roppongi Tokyo Club Residence Popular With Buyers

The Roppongi Tokyo Club Residence has seen positive sales activity. From the initial release of 95 units in mid-July, 86 have received applications.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Why are the Chinese buying real estate in Japan?

Although it is reported almost every other day in the Japanese news, this Financial Times article provides a simple summary of why Chinese buyers are investing in Japanese real estate. Some of the reasons include attractive rental returns, capital gain on refurbishing apartment buildings and selling to other Chinese investors, or simply buying a vacation home. Despite the media attention, foreigners only represent a very small portion of the real estate market in Japan.

Article: Financial Times - Global Economy, August 19, 2010.

by Zoe Ward

More Red Flags over Kenyan Embassy Land Purchase

More details on the Kenyan Embassy land purchase in Tokyo are coming to light. According to Kenya's Daily Nation, the Ministry decided to purchase a plot of land with two ageing buildings in Yakumo, Meguro-ku, from an individual owner at an unusally high price (1.6 billion JPY).

The seller, who was previously leasing the land and buildings to the Embassy, carried out his own property background check and personally drew up the contract documents.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Apartment prices from 2007-2010

According to the following data, the average sales price per square meter of existing apartments in Tokyo appear to be increasing and are now on level with prices in mid-2007.  Average prices for 2010 have continued to surpass the 2009 prices.

The following charts are provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).Read more

by Zoe Ward