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July 05, 2025
 

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HOUSING

Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 12, 2015
Investors see big returns as Airbnb takes off in Japan
While many see Airbnb as a possible fix for two seious problems in Japan — the shortage of hotel rooms and a steady increase in vacant buildings — others see an investment opportunity.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 7, 2015
City land grab sowing seeds of China's next property boom
In the Chaoyang district of northeast Beijing, a nondescript wall covered in patriotic posters protects one of the city's most valuable treasures: a dirt field containing nothing but a few scattered trees.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 6, 2015
It should be home sweet home, but not in Japan
The destructive nexus between construction companies, bureaucracy and politicians is largely responsible for Japan's glut of rapidly depreciating houses.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 5, 2015
Aota-uri: 'green' condominiums to be wary of
Each year between 1990, when Japan's asset bubble burst, and the 2007 recession, about 200,000 new condominium units were added to Japan's housing stock. After 2007, the number dropped to about 100,000, but, depending on the year, anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 of these units were built in the Tokyo...
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 23, 2015
The reason American landlords love to rent properties to refugees: reliability
One week a refugee family is fleeing the brutality of civil war and living in a shipping container near the Syrian border, and the next they might be moving into a furnished apartment in Cleveland.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2015
Japan piling probe to expand to entire industry as data falsification fears grow
The infrastructure ministry says it will expand its probe into data management for piling work to the entire industry, as fears of manipulation involving building foundation piles continue to grow.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 16, 2015
Philippines' Aquino pushes infrastructure projects as term in office ends
With seven months left in office, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III is taking measures to strengthen his infrastructure legacy and boost the resilience of one of Asia's fastest-growing economies.
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2015
Asahi Kasei piling scandal grows to at least 50 workers, 266 sites
The company at the center of Yokohama's tilting condominium reveals that over 50 employees falsified data on at least 266 piling projects over the past decade.
EDITORIALS
Nov 11, 2015
Piling scandal needs deep probe
The probe into the piling data scandal mustn't end with individual companies and workers; instead it should dig deep into the very foundation of the construction industry and get at the real root of the problem.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 31, 2015
Not-so-friendly neighborhood associations
When the U.S. military took charge following Japan's surrender in 1945, one of the first things it did was ban jichikai, or community associations. The thinking was that these organizations had carried out the work of the military government at the neighborhood level and their continued existence might...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2015
Rich Chinese facing backlash over property prices in Vancouver, North America's costliest city
James Hankle, a software engineer in his 50s who was sporting blue jeans and a Green Party T-shirt, was trying to explain to a reporter his fix for Vancouver's runaway property prices when he was interrupted by an eavesdropping passerby: "Stop allowing people from China to buy our houses and leave them...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 3, 2015
Don't be green about the charm of tatami
When we were thinking of buying a condominium, we visited several old danchi — apartments built by Japan's former public housing corporation — because they were cheap and, we thought, easy to renovate. One of the units we inspected had bedroom floors made of tatami mats, and we wondered if we could...
EDITORIALS
Sep 24, 2015
The coming crisis in housing
The government's policy on housing should veer away from encouraging new construction and focus more on developing the market for secondhand houses.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Sep 5, 2015
Score eco points for your home ground
Several months ago we had most of the windows in our home replaced, even though the house is less than 2 years old. When we had it built we ordered standard double-glazed windows with aluminum frames and sashes, thinking it would be enough, but after the first winter we realized is wasn't, so we decided...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Aug 1, 2015
Your home may be your castle, but not all of it is yours
When we were thinking about buying a condominium some years ago, we looked at older units and brand new ones, and one of our least favorite features was pebbled or fogged window glass, which was ubiquitous. Early on, when we didn't know any better, we asked a real estate agent how much it would cost...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jul 4, 2015
Temblors in the home insurance business
When we were looking around for a financial institution for a housing loan, we found that the major ones didn't really want to talk to us, but there were plenty of other places that would.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jun 6, 2015
Watch out for hidden hazards of buying land
When we were looking for property we consulted topographical maps prior to checking a particular piece of land in person. Understanding the elevation of a plot is important if you're buying land near the coast or along a river. In the event of flooding or a tsunami, it's obviously better to be located...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
May 30, 2015
'Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings' reveals intricacies of Edo Period architecture and interiors
"Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings" was first published in 1886, less than two decades after the Meiji Restoration, a time when Japan reopened itself to the world. But the same openness that allowed Morse to document Japanese architecture as a living tradition would soon transform the urban landscape...
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
May 10, 2015
Perfect storm of factors conspires to empty Japan
While 'empty-house syndrome' may seem like a problem mostly afflicting rural Japan, it is already an issue in metropolises such as Tokyo and Osaka, and will become more so in the years to come.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
May 2, 2015
Garden states: looking good on the outside
One problem with designing your own house is that you don't necessarily know what it's going to be like until it's finished. The company we hired to build ours doesn't make model homes the way some housing companies do. It's one of the reasons we chose them, since models add to the price of the product....
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

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What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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