Saburo Nishiura is using Japan's record-low borrowing costs to turn the nation's shrinking population to his advantage.
The 67-year-old former banker is the chief executive officer of Hulic Co., a developer with a concentration of commercial properties in Tokyo's expensive Ginza district. But the company is cutting the weighting of offices in its portfolio in favor of nursing homes, shops and hotels amid a shift in demographics and after borrowing costs that have fallen by about one-third since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to power in 2012.
"I don't think office rents will rise much more because Japan's working population is declining," said Nishiura who, prior to joining Hulic in 2006, used to be a deputy president at Mizuho Bank Ltd. "Borrowing rates are so low you'd almost worry how banks can make a profit."