Scandal-ridden site in Shinjuku up for public auction
Due to the messy history behind this land, most people had given up on the thought of ever seeing this site redeveloped. However, the land is being put up for public auction on February 17, 2015, by the Tokyo Tax Office with a minimum bid set at 2.19 billion Yen (18.5 million USD).
The Shinjuku Building Incident
The site was once home to the Shinjuku Building - a 12-storey multi-tenant building built in 1983 and demolished in early 2011.Read more
Tokyo City Hall facing 76 billion Yen repair bill
The 22-year old Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (aka Tokyo City Hall or 'Tocho') in Shinjuku is facing a large-scale maintenance and repair bill estimated to cost 76.2 billion Yen (approximately 783 million USD).
Designed by architect Kenzo Tange, the government building was completed in 1991 at a cost of 156.9 billion Yen. The 243m tall building was once the tallest in Japan. Read more
Korea Town leads to rise in land values
The South Korean pop culture boom in Shinjuku's "Korea Town" has led to a large increase in surrounding land values.
According to the 2012 Koji-Chika assessed land values, the Shinokubo area in Shinjuku which has a large South Korean population has seen land values increase by 1.7% over the past year. While the nationwide residential land values have fallen by 2.3% and 3.1% in business districts, Korea Town has managed to escape from the declining land values.Read more