National housing policy is set for change with the reformist Koizumi Cabinet having launched a political battle to abolish or privatize all unprofitable semigovernmental corporations.
Two housing-related public corporations that suck up hundreds of billions of yen every year from the national coffers are on the hit list: the Government Housing Loan Corp. and Urban Development Corp.
Housing Loan Corp. makes up about 40 percent of Japan's 180 trillion yen housing loan market, while Urban Development Corp. is dubbed the "world's largest landlord," with 748,500 rental properties on its books.