How-tos May 31, 2021
What's behind housing discrimination in Japan?
by Eric Margolis
Japanese real estate agents sometimes don't want to try to deal with non-Japanese renters, which is why specialist companies are popping up to help.
How-tos May 17, 2021
Renting, building or renovating: Tips to get the best roof over your head
by Eric Margolis
If you plan to stay for a while in Japan, there are several routes you can take when it comes to finding a place to rest your head.
How-tos May 10, 2021
Japan’s undeterred housing market is full of opportunity for foreign residents
by Eric Margolis
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many foreign residents to think about what they want to do long-term in Japan. For some, buying property is the answer.
Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA May 3, 2021
by Andreas Neuenkirchen
In the final entry of a three-part series on moving house during the pandemic, our writer masks up to meet the neighbors.
Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA Apr 19, 2021
Moving house in a pandemic: The move isn’t the hardest part, the packing is
by Andreas Neuenkirchen
Moving into a new home doesn’t have to be stressful if you get help. What comes before and after that is tough enough.
Lifestyle Dec 12, 2020
Escaping COVID-19: When you can’t see the virus for the trees
by Alex K.T. Martin
Individuals are replacing forestry companies and large corporations in efforts to buy plots of affordable forestland — but for a very different reason.
Lifestyle May 17, 2020
Life in your Japanese apartment doesn’t have to be a life sentence
by Rebecca Saunders
Having trouble with working from home? Try delegating spaces and a few other tricks to maintain a work-life balance.
Lifestyle Apr 20, 2019
Downsized dwellings: Inside Tokyo's tiny living spaces
by Alex K.T. Martin
Twenty-five-year-old Sotaro Ito lives in a 9.46-square-meter apartment with a loft in the capital's retro-hip Koenji district. His apartment looks more like an office cubicle, with a desk and computer chair dominating a third of the room. A reading pillow is propped up against one ...
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Feb 23, 2019
Leopalace21 scandal highlights the risk tenants face in Japan compared to building owners
by Philip Brasor
The theme of the Nippon Television series "Shiawase! Bonbi Girl" (“Happy Poor Girls”) is one of the most resilient on Japanese television: People of limited means getting by. As the title indicates, the subject is young women and one of the regular segments, "Jokyo ...
How-tos | HOME TRUTHS Apr 1, 2018
New minpaku law will alter Japan's rental and hospitality landscape
by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku
A new law will go into effect in June to regulate minpaku, private residences rented out by their owners as short-term lodgings. To most, the new law will address changes that have occurred in recent years due to the rise of Airbnb, the ...
How-tos | HOME TRUTHS Mar 4, 2018
Doling out some truths about Japan's 'share houses'
by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku
Many Japanese people are wary of investment as a means of growing their savings. There are a variety of reasons for this caution, so most keep their money in a bank, gaining almost no interest in the process, in the hope that they won't ...
How-tos | HOME TRUTHS Feb 11, 2018
Condo management is in need of repairs
by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku
On Dec. 18, the Supreme Court's petit bench ruled against a man from Fukuoka Prefecture who was suing the management association (kanri kumiai) of his condominium for firing him as its president of the board (rijicho) because the regulations of the association contained no ...