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July 16, 2025
 

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HOUSING

Residential buildings under construction in Shanghai in July 2022. The Chinese government risks long-term decline by repeating Japan’s policy mistakes in handling its real estate and demographic crises.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2025
China’s housing crisis is worse than it seems
Chinese policymakers — who are facing an even more severe housing and demographic crisis than Japan —are at risk of making the same mistakes.
Xu Pengcheng (right), model Mao Yi and Nono walk along a corridor inside an abandoned hotel in Shanghai on May 24.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 6, 2025
China's abandoned buildings draw urban explorers despite risks
Urban exploration is growing in popularity in China, where a yearslong property sector crisis has left many cities dotted with empty buildings.
Terry Kilgore, 70, stands in his property where the yard used to be before losing his home to the Eaton Fire in January 2025, in Altadena, California.
WORLD / Society
Jul 4, 2025
Six months after LA wildfires, some adjust to new life in RVs
Many homeowners are crashing with friends and family, or renting during the rebuild, but others have chosen to live in RVs on their properties.
A Buddhist monk performs a ceremony for lost souls at a property which is classified as a <i>jiko bukken</i>, or a "misfortunate property" where deaths have occurred, in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on May 8.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 1, 2025
As property prices soar in Japan, the taint of death may not deter some buyers
Investors attracted by potential high yields increasingly do not care about a property's grim history, mostly because they are unlikely to live there themselves.
Apartment rents in the capital climbed 1.3% from a year earlier in April and May for the largest gains since 1994, government data shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 26, 2025
Tokyo rents rising at fastest pace in 30 years backs case for BOJ rate hikes
Bigger outlays for accommodation are likely to further fuel a change in inflation expectations and behavior among households of all sizes.
The Hotaruan Royal Garden Suite, a renovated traditional "minka" home, will host the second iteration of the Minka Preservation Society's MinkaMeets event.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 31, 2025
Traditional home experts to gather at MinkaMeets event
Roof thatching expert Haruo Nishio is one of several experts scheduled to speak at the June 7-8 event.
Sales of luxury properties in Tokyo, like Azabudai Hills’ Aman Residences, have pushed up average real estate prices in the capital.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 27, 2025
Luxury Tokyo penthouse sold for over $65 million in new record
Home prices in Tokyo have been on a broad upward trend, driven by rising construction costs and a limited supply of new buildings.
Despite the stereotypes, Japan is one of the most permissive places for non-residents to buy property.
COMMENTARY
May 27, 2025
It’s too easy for foreigners to buy Japanese property
Foreign buyers are driving up Tokyo housing prices amid Japan’s lack of property restrictions, sparking calls for tighter rules to protect residents and limit speculation.
China’s prolonged real estate slump has pushed housing construction back to early 2000s levels, sharply cutting cement production and offering a rare climate reprieve from one of the world’s biggest sources of carbon emissions.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2025
China’s building crash is rewinding 22 years of growth
The real estate slump may be bad for the economy, but it’s good for the planet — cement is one of the most polluting substances on Earth.
A vacant house in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, which collapsed following the January 2024 earthquake, is left untouched on May 12 as its owner cannot be identified. The car's license plate has been blurred for privacy reasons.
JAPAN
May 19, 2025
Noto municipalities struggle with quake-damaged vacant houses
There are at least 47 damaged houses whose owners are unclear in Wajima, and at least 35 in the city of Nanao.
Apartments in the district of Miyazato in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, where many students live
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
May 12, 2025
Rents soar in northern Okinawa ahead of Junglia theme park opening
While large-scale hiring may help to revitalize the area, it is also creating a housing supply shortage, affecting students and others who are moving in.
Deceptive contractors prey on elderly homeowners and pressure them into signing contracts by making claims such as, "If you leave it unchanged, your house will tilt."
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 8, 2025
Japan struggles to crack down on home renovation scams
A senior police official said the rise in fraudulent renovation work is largely due to a legal loophole over small-scale construction work.
From 2028, all newly let U.K. properties must have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of at least C, though currently only 40% of rentals meet or exceed that threshold.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2025
London rents surge. Why are landlords miserable?
The landlord exodus story, which we’ve been hearing about for years, has evolved into a quantifiable phenomenon.
In the 12 months to March 31, the average price of new condominiums in Tokyo's 23 wards rose 11.2% year on year to ¥116.32 million ($824,500), hitting a record high for the fourth consecutive year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2025
Central Tokyo condo price tops ¥100 million for second straight year
Prices averaged ¥116.32 million ($824,500) in fiscal 2024, up 11.2% from the previous year.
Temporary housing for Noto Peninsula earthquake evacuees in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Thursday
JAPAN / Society
Apr 13, 2025
Over 70% of Noto evacuees concerned about housing
One woman in her 60s in the city of Nanao complained about soaring construction costs as her house is being rebuilt.
Takashi Murata, head of Japan at Warburg Pincus in Tokyo, says the private-equity firm is confident about market growth in Tokyo despite the overall depopulation of Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2025
Warburg purchases Tokyo rental houses and plans Japan office
The New York-based private equity firm said it acquired a portfolio of 1,195 shared rental houses in the greater Tokyo area.
Pigeons — and their droppings — can be extremely difficult to manage once they settle in.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 25, 2025
A new year, a new home and new unexpected guests: pigeons
They might seem harmless at first, but their droppings pose serious health risks to humans and the birds can be extremely difficult to manage once they settle in.
The Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. Tokyo police have arrested a number of suspects this month in connection with home improvement scams.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 17, 2025
Police issue warning over home improvement scams
Such scams use similar tactics to those employed by fraudsters who impersonate relatives or public agency officials over the phone to defraud victims of their money.
The building of new high-rise residential buildings has some alarmed that they could empty and fall into disrepair as Japan's population shrinks.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 24, 2025
The high cost of letting Japan's condos crumble
With rising repair costs, dwindling reserve funds and an aging population of owners, thousands of buildings are at risk of falling into disrepair.
These old houses, damaged by the January 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, are set to be demolished using public funds.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2025
Home demolition applications rising in quake-hit Ishikawa
Since many of the damaged houses are traditional, picturesque buildings, concerns are rising that their demolition could impair the region's landscape and cultural value.
Students in Japan struggle with Japanese language and math sections on national exam
The correct answer rate for the Japanese language section on a national test dropped to 67.0% from 67.8% the previous year among elementary school sixth-graders.
Japan team finds ancient ocean full of squids
The ancient ocean was full of squids, whose population exceeded that of fish or ammonites, a Japanese research team mainly from Hokkaido University has found through a new method using technology.
Japan researchers identify gut bacteria strain that boosts anticancer drugs
Researchers at the National Cancer Center Japan say a new type of gut bacteria named YB328 could help unlock the potential of cancer immunotherapy.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
Japanese scientists discover clue to why women burn more fat than men
Scientists say a recently-published study could help explain why women are typically less prone to weight-related conditions and may lead to new therapies that target calorie-burning mechanisms.
Music idol and anime fandom merch is big business
Businesses who cater to fandoms gathered at Tokyo Lifestyle Week for the second annual Oshikatsu — Merch Collection Expo, a trade show devoted to fandom goods.
U.S. urges clarity on Japan’s role in potential war over Taiwan, report says
A Ground Self-Defense Force member conducts a military drill with an anti-ship missiles unit, at the GSDF's base on Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture in April 2022.
Tourists in Japan have telemedicine options before calling 119
Foreign tourists at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo. More than 1 million international visitors have a medical issue in Japan every year.
Is Japanese skin really ‘too smooth’ for Hideo Kojima’s games?
Hideo Kojima, the leading auteur in Japanese video games, has skirted controversy in the wake of the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan
By Megha Wadhwa

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