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May 11, 2024
 

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HOUSING

Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Sep 2, 2013
Housing loans: Nothing is 100 percent easy
The government has yet to confirm the timing of the approved consumption tax increase from 5 to 8 percent. It's slated to take place next April but there is still fear that the economy is too frail to withstand the effect the added tax might have on actual consumption. Consequently, the government is thinking of raising the ceiling for "Flat 35" housing loans from 90 to 100 percent. That means borrowers who qualify can have the entire cost of a home financed.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Aug 5, 2013
The aging issue of Chiba New Town
The Chiba New Town development project was begun in the late 1960s by the Chiba prefectural government, and a decade later, joined by the Land Development Corporation, the government housing organ that would morph into the Urban Renaissance (UR) Agency in 2004. It is located in the northern part of the prefecture and takes in portions of the cities of Funabashi, Shiroi and Inzai.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jul 2, 2013
Moved by the benefits of mobile-home housing
The model house sat on an empty patch of brown land along a commercial stretch of road in southern Ibaraki Prefecture. Few people would have identified it as a model house. It had a forlorn, out-of-place look to it. Technically, it was a mobile home — "trailer house," in Japanese parlance — propped up on car jacks and with a small porch attached to the entrance.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jun 4, 2013
Sometimes it pays to look on the bright side
The flyers were provocative: New houses priced at more than ¥35 million, but the builder promised that the mortgage would amount to ¥0 a month. A free house is obviously too good to be true, but we decided to check out the merchandise to see what the story was.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
May 14, 2013
On uneven ground: landfill property pitfalls
After the real estate agent unlocked the front door, the musty smell told us that the house had not been aired for some time. He laid out slippers for us and proceeded to raise the shutters and open the windows. Then, upon entering the kitchen he exclaimed, "Katamuite iru" ("It's uneven").
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 23, 2013
Student seeking Kyoto flat told: No foreigners allowed
After spending 2u00bd years living the quiet life in Shiga Prefecture, Ryukoku University student Victor Rosenhoj was looking forward to moving to Kyoto, where things promised to be more lively and international.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 23, 2013
Renter guarantor system a headache for foreigners
Things were going well for Patrick after a year in Japan. He had found a job he liked, met a girl he planned to marry and was ready to move out of the small room his older brother, a longtime resident, was letting him use.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Apr 2, 2013
When remodeling isn't quite a home improvement
A year ago we looked at a 20-year-old apartment after it had just gone on sale in the city where we live, which is about an hour from Tokyo. It was large and sunny, but the walls needed to be re-papered and the floors replaced. The realtor told us that the ¥11.6 million asking price included the cost of remodeling, which would be carried out by a company already chosen by the owner, once a sales contract was signed. We said we preferred having the remodeling done to our own specifications and asked how much cheaper the apartment would be if we bought it in its present state. She checked with the owner and called us back: He'd knock off ¥600,000.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2013
State to build 20,000 housing units in disaster-hit areas by March 2016
The government said Thursday that it will build nearly 20,000 public housing units by March 2016 for people affected by the March 2011 megaquake-tsunami disaster in the Tohoku region and consequent nuclear crisis.
Japan Times
JAPAN / TOHOKU TRAPPED IN TIME
Mar 8, 2013
Traumatized port struggles to stay together, move on
When the Kinoya fish processing company in Ishinomaki opened its brand new flagship factory last month, it gave employees a ray of hope that it would recover from the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed much of the city.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Mar 5, 2013
Buying property in the age of Abenomics
According to most business media, now is the time to act if you are thinking about buying a home. Though the Liberal Democratic Party has yet to confirm that it will go ahead with the consumption tax increases the Democratic Party of Japan passed last year, it seems likely that the first hike to 8 percent will go through as planned in April 2014. The prediction is that people will try to buy homes before the consumption tax goes into effect and interest rates rise as a response to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's effort to boost inflation. Because the consumption tax — which applies to new homes but not to land — is levied when the buyer takes possession of the property, experts are expecting a rush on new homes by the end of the summer.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Feb 4, 2013
Building your home can come at quite a cost
People in the market for new single-family houses usually don't worry as much about the land those houses occupy because they tend to work with developers, who purchase huge tracts and then subdivide them. The customer buys the land and the house as a package, though the authorities see it as two purchases and assess property taxes accordingly. In such transactions, either the new house is already on the property or the customer is obligated to buy a model from the developer or a partner and have it built on the land.
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2011
Citizens measuring radiation
In the wake of the Tohoku's radiation problems, the government's insistence of safety no longer seems credible to many people, especially those closest to the hardest-hit areas. To find out for themselves if their food is safe or not, a radiation measurement station has been set up by citizens in the city of Fukushima. The station, called the Citizens' Radioactivity Measuring Station, is a clear sign that citizens no longer trust the pronouncements of government officials and specialists.
EDITORIALS
Aug 1, 2011
Energy plan shakeup
The government in 2009 announced the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020 from the 1990 level. The assumption was that nuclear power would play a central role. In 2010, the government's basic energy plan called for increasing the nuclear contribution to 53 percent of total power generation from 30 percent at that time.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 13, 2011
More shopping refugees: Residents of planned community at the mercy of bureaucratic prerogatives
Elderly residents of a corner of Chiba New Town have been left without a supermarket to shop in.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Apr 2, 2011
Creative shelters bring privacy to Tohoku evacuees
Architects and designers are coming to the aid of homeless needing privacy and shelter in the wake of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 10, 2010
Annals of cheap: UR apartments to die for
With UR rentals, you can land an apartment for half the price ... as long as you're not easily spooked.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
May 10, 2010
Apartment shares in Japan draw a share of the herd
Rents aren't getting any lower, but if you're willing to share, you might end up with a pretty cool place to live.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 6, 2009
Japanese public housing: It's not just for poor people any more
Public housing in Japan might be associated with the boxy kodan apartments, but they've have come a long way. Question is, have they come far enough?
LIFE / Lifestyle / WEEK 3
Jun 15, 2008
Space modules for the space-challenged
According to the latest Japanese government statistics (from 2003), the average Tokyo apartment that is home to a four-person family allows them a measly 36.5 sq. meters to live in. That's just a bit more than a large shipping container.
How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.
Japan bread recalled after rat parts found inside packs
Pasco Shikishima has recalled 104,000 packs of its white Chojuku bread after parts of a rat's body were discovered in two of them.
Japanese students' English proficiency is improving
An education ministry survey has shown that the English proficiency of public junior and senior high school students in Japan is continuing to improve.
Is Modi’s party heading for a stunning election loss?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign tactics have escalated, including anti-Muslim rhetoric and fearmongering, reflecting his ruling party's desperation.
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
Gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani's interpreter being turned into TV series
Ippei Mizuhara interprets for Shohei Ohtani during the baseball star's introductory news conference with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Dec. 14.
How the discovery of a giant sword in Nara offers clues into ancient Japan
Archaeologists say a 1,600-year-old wooden coffin at the Tomio Maruyama tumulus in the city of Nara was kept in good condition probably because it was protected by a layer of clay and copper ions that had seeped out of the mirrors that were buried together.
Stormy seas ahead as Beijing and Manila trade barbs over secret deal
Philippine Marines wave to Philippine Navy personnel and the media during a resupply mission at their military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship run aground in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in 1999, in the South China Sea, in March 2014.
Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.

Podcast

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[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

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