Softbank acquires Sharp factory in Osaka for data center conversion
Sharp is selling part of its Sakai Display Product (SDP) plant and land in Osaka to Softbank with a sale price estimated to be around 100 billion Yen (US$671 million). The electronics manufacturer is expecting to post a 75.4 billion Yen (US$506 million) profit on sales as a result.Read more
Hotel bookings up as Osaka expo approaches
With two weeks to go until the opening of Expo 2025 in Osaka and some sluggish ticket sales, there appears to be a noticeable increase in hotel reservations compared to last year.Read more
Commercial land values rise over 10% in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka
Japan’s land values continued to rise in key locations this year, with commercial land values in Tokyo’s 23 wards (+11.8%), Osaka City (+11.6%), and Fukuoka City (+11.3%) all seeing year-on-year growth in the double digits.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) announced the results of the nationwide assessed land values (地価公示) on March 18. Nationwide, the average land value across all uses increased for the 4th year in a row with 2.7% growth, showing an increasing pace from 2024 (+2.3%), 2023 (+1.6%), and 2022 (+0.6%).Read more
REIT acquires minpaku building in Osaka
A REIT has acquired a ‘minpaku’ or short-term accommodation-registered apartment building in Osaka from its sponsor for approximately 2.5 billion Yen (US$16 million). The acquisition price works out to around 37 million Yen per key.Read more
Tokyo apartment rents increase 1.6% y-o-y
The average advertised rent of condo-type apartments in Tokyo’s 23 wards reached 4,332 Yen/m2 in January, according to Tokyo Kantei. This is a 0.9% increase from the previous month and a 1.6% increase from January 2024.Read more
REIT acquires two Mimaru hotels
ORIX JREIT is acquiring two serviced-apartment style hotels in Osaka and Kyoto for 7.85 billion Yen (approx. US$50 million). The price per key is 132.5 million Yen (US$840,000) for the Osaka hotel and 68.9 million Yen (US$440,000) for the Kyoto hotel.Read more
Gap remains between asking rents and tenant budgets in Tokyo
With inflation-adjusted real wages remaining stagnant in Japan, how have residential rents in major cites been faring? If you only look at advertised rents, year-on-year increases of 30 ~ 45% can be seen in some city centers, particularly for family-type rental apartments. But are tenants willing to pay these prices?
In October, listing portal site LIFULL HOME’S published its latest rental data, which separates rental data into advertised rents and those inquired about by potential tenants. The gap between the two has been growing significantly in some cities.Read more