Tag - housing

 
 

HOUSING

Materials derived from cabbage (left), iyokan (center) and onion by Tokyo-based startup Fabula, which is working to develop new materials that can replace concrete.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Aug 27, 2023
Japan’s scrap-and-rebuild culture faces an environmental reckoning
The nation's tendency toward new construction — rather than renovation — is coming under renewed scrutiny amid concerns over sustainability.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 20, 2023
Tokyo aiming to eliminate areas congested with wooden houses
As of 2020, Tokyo had some 8,600 hectares of such areas that are expected to suffer particularly severe damage in the event of a large quake.
Residential buildings under construction at Tahoe Group's Cathay Courtyard development in Shanghai
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 17, 2023
China’s housing slump is much worse than official data shows
Industry insiders and economists say China’s official home-price indexes are likely understating the depth of the downturn.
People walk along Shanghai's main shopping area on March 14. China's economic activity data has been missing forecasts, raising worries that the country is approaching a crunch point.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 16, 2023
As China's economy slows, economists ask how much worse it can get
The demise of the country's growth has been mistakenly forecast before. Is this time different?
Residents stand in the corridors outside their homes at the Worli dairy quarters building in Mumbai. This crumbling structure houses more than 600 people.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 8, 2023
In Mumbai, civil servants risk safety for affordable housing
Some 600 people live in one government-owned, dilapidated block, in the same neighborhood that's home to the daughter of India's richest man.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 16, 2023
How to adapt home design for extreme heat
Europeans and North Americans spend around 90% of their time inside, and millions of their homes were built for weather that no longer exists.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 10, 2023
For Hong Kong's youth, government-backed hostels offer speck of housing hope
The hostel program is aimed at tackling youth frustration with housing — a factor Beijing believes contributed to the anti-government pro-democracy protests that rocked the city in 2019.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2023
Squeezed on housing, Sunak’s Tories take aim at EU-era water law
The British leader is considering scrapping the law as his government faces pressure to build more houses while fending off a voter backlash on pollution.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 9, 2023
World's slum populations set to surge as housing crisis bites
More than half of the world's population lives in cities and towns, so tackling urban poverty and inequality is more urgent than ever before.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2023
Singapore’s high costs won’t dethrone the money center — yet
Southern Malaysia is becoming popular as Singaporean housing prices surge. The commute to Johor brings its own challenges.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 8, 2023
Singapore’s soaring rents are becoming a political problem
For the ruling People’s Action Party, solving the housing problem is crucial as the party navigates succession.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 8, 2023
Jarred by pandemic curbs, rich Chinese scour Thailand for second homes
Cooped up for three years under some of the world's toughest COVID-19 controls, a flood of mainland Chinese have been hunting for property buys overseas since Beijing opened its borders.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 17, 2023
Traditional Japanese homes are the focus of weekend-long Minka Summit
Amid a movement toward sustainable living, old Japanese farmhouses are getting a second look from the non-Japanese population.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 26, 2023
Haruo Nishio: ‘Thatched roofs tell a story of eternity’
The ancient craft of thatching is resisting the pressures of modernity thanks to artisans like Haruo Nishio, who connects to Japan’s historic roots by preserving its original houses.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Longform
Mar 11, 2023
Abandoned after 3/11, Fukushima starts attracting new residents
People are moving to areas near the crippled nuclear power plant in the prefecture lured by the promise of subsidies, discount housing and work opportunities. But will these migrants stay?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 14, 2023
Tokyo condo market shows early cooling signs on BOJ policy risks
The number of existing apartments up for sale in central Tokyo’s popular bay area rose for two straight weeks in January.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 6, 2023
New U.K. climate lab puts whole homes to test against weather of the future
The facility has two chambers that can experience different weather at the same time, and can be used to test types of housing from all over the world to improve energy efficiency.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2022
Five major Japanese banks to raise housing loan rates in January
The decision comes in the wake of a rise in long-term government bond yields following a policy revision by the Bank of Japan.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 29, 2022
Remote workers descend on Mexico City and housing prices surge
The city has become a global hub for foreigners unshackled from their offices by work-from-home policies and drawn to the comforts a salary paid in dollars or euros can afford.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 23, 2022
Australia's housing crisis, largely hidden, is getting worse
Relentlessly rising rents, eight consecutive interest rate hikes and surging living costs have inflamed what was already among the world's least affordable rental markets.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji