Tag - real-estate

 
 

REAL ESTATE

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....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 29, 2015
Tiny House documentary makes Tokyo apartments look like palaces
"Small is Beautiful" is a documentary about the TH (Tiny House) movement, the latest underground trend in housing and real estate in the U.S. In the next few years, though, TH could go mainstream thanks to a growing online community that shares information about what's on the TH market and how to actually...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Apr 4, 2015
Japan's public housing system has a shelf life
One of the most desirable properties in Tokyo is Chateau Mita, located in Minato Ward within walking distance of several embassies and Tokyo Tower and less than 10 minutes from four subway stations. The apartment building was constructed in 1964 and by 2000 there were persistent problems with plumbing...
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 23, 2015
Norway sovereign wealth fund eyeing real estate in Tokyo, Singapore
Norway's wealth fund is making final preparations for its first Asian real estate investment as it builds a portfolio of properties in the world's biggest cities.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Feb 6, 2015
Renting comes with guarantors, not guarantees
According to the most recent census, as of 2010 the population of Japan stood at a little less than 128 million, and if demographic trends continue at the current rate it will be 107 million in 2030 and 97 million in 2050. Despite this projected decline, 369,993 new rental units were built in Japan last...
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 22, 2015
Mitsui Fudosan to build office tower in Manhattan
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Japan's biggest developer, will build an office tower in Manhattan with an expected cost of ¥150 billion.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 12, 2015
Residences left empty posing problems across the nation
The population keeps aging and shrinking, but new housing keeps getting built even though Japan has a glut of unused dwellings.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jan 2, 2015
Property borders: Where to draw the line
Some years ago we lived in western Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, in a neighborhood that clung to the contours of a hilly terrain. Many of the streets were just dirt and gravel, even though the area was fully developed. Neighbors told us that they had been trying to get the local government to pave these...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 5, 2014
What's really behind the drop in home sales?
Thanks to the upcoming snap election, which is being called a referendum for the government's economic policies, everyone is aware that Japan's GDP has worsened since the consumption tax was raised last April. A large portion of this drop is being attributed to declining sales of new houses and condominiums....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2014
Blackstone to acquire GE Japan's apartment unit for $1.61 billion
Blackstone Group LP agreed to buy GE Japan Corp.'s residential property business for more than ¥190 billion to expand its apartment holdings in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 31, 2014
Homeowners resume debate on renewables
In September, Kyushu Electric Power announced it would stop buying energy from solar-power suppliers due to over-supply and a lack of transmission capacity, setting off a debate about Japan's dedication to renewable energy. While the decision to halt purchases of solar energy from any supplier whose...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 3, 2014
Inheritance tax in Japan may not be the burden you imagined
With the government cutting corporate tax, it needs even more revenue to make up for its already alarming fiscal shortfall. So far the media has fixated on consumption tax, which tends to be more punishingly felt by the average person than any other sort of tax.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Sep 5, 2014
Can Japan level its problem with vacant buildings?
On July 29, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released the results of its latest survey on Japanese housing, which it completed last fall and conducts every five years. The statistic that caught the media's attention was the one for akiya, or vacant homes. As of the end of October 2013,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Aug 1, 2014
Ticking the right tax boxes
In most places in the world, property taxes, which are levied on buildings and land, are administered and collected by local governments for the benefit of local governments. This is also true in Japan, but it's useful to keep in mind that property tax rules and regulations are determined by the central government.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jul 4, 2014
When should we make noise about loud neighbors?
In August 1974, a 46-year-old man living on the fourth floor of a public apartment building in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, forced his way into the unit below him and killed two little girls and their mother. After attempting suicide he was arrested, and he told police he had been driven to murder...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2014
Mori eyes ¥1 trillion in projects ahead of Games
Mori Building Co., Japan's largest closely held developer, is planning projects in central Tokyo worth an estimated ¥1 trillion with its partners, as the city prepares for the Olympic Games in 2020.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jun 2, 2014
Generation gaps filled by brick and mortar
Though their numbers have dwindled in the developed world over the past century, multi-generation households are still common, and in fact may become even more common in countries where income gaps are increasing. In Japan, multi-generation households have social relevance owing to cultural norms, the...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2014
Mitsui Fudosan plans big share issue on Olympics
Mitsui Fudosan Co. plans to raise as much as ¥324.6 billion in the biggest share sale by a property company in Japan in at least four decades.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2014
Mitsubishi Estate turns first profit in three years
Mitsubishi Estate Co. said Thursday that full-year earnings rose for the first time in three years as profit margins at its residential business improved and office rents recovered.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
May 5, 2014
Money that must go down the pan
In almost all of Japan's major cities, close to 100 percent of the population are connected to public sewerage systems, but the farther away from cities you get the more the number drops. Tokushima Prefecture is the lowest, at 16.3 percent.

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