800,000 sqm of land with unknown owners in Okinawa
The effects of the battle of Okinawa in 1945 still remain today with countless tracts of land left vacant as ownership records were lost during air raids. Just over 805,000 sqm (199 acres) of land is missing records of ownership as houses were burned down along with the land registers and title documents.
In Teruya, Itoman City, in the southern end of Okinawa, sugarcane farming and residential houses are gradually increasing. However, a small 74 sqm block of land remains vacant as no one knows who the rightful owner is.Read more
RYU:X TOWER - Okinawa's latest high-rise apartments
Three of Japan's major developers, Daiwa, Orix and Daikyo, have announced the details of their latest high-rise condominium project in Naha City, Okinawa. Called "RYU:X TOWER", the two 30 storey buildings will have 676 apartments ranging from one to three bedrooms, and priced from 28 to 69.2 million Yen.
The developers were selected by the city in 2006 to redevelop the site. The first stage of the redevelopment including building offices and hotel facilities. The second stage includes the two residential towers.Read more
Tokyo's newest and tallest wood-frame mansion
Tokyo's first 5-storey wooden structure - an apartment building - is to be built near Shimouma in Setagaya-ku.
Under a revision to the Building Standards Act in 2000, wooden structures over 4 stories are permissible as long as they meet building strength and fire resistant regulations. Prior to this amendment, a law made during the Taisho period (1926 - 1926) limited wooden structures to 3 stories.
Although the amendment was made 12 years ago, it has not been widely taken up by the construction industry. In Tokyo city, just one 4-storey wooden residence was built in Chiyoda-ku in 2011.Read more