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Lisa Du
The Aozora Bank headquarters in Tokyo. The bank surprised investors with losses tied to U.S. commercial property, sending shares down by the limit and heightening concern over global banks' exposure to souring real estate bets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 2, 2024
Gamble on U.S. commercial property blows up for Japan’s Aozora
Shares went down by the limit and heightened concern over global banks' exposure to souring real estate bets.
The average price of a new apartment for sale in Tokyo and surrounding areas surged 29% to a fresh high of ¥81 million in 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 25, 2024
Tokyo apartment prices reach record high for third straight year
Prices are expected to keep climbing in 2024 even as the economy slows and the Bank of Japan looks to abandon its negative interest-rate policy.
Data center development is time-consuming and complex — requiring a mix of expertise around real estate, technology, local regulations and environmental requirements. Asia’s highly fragmented market makes navigating these factors even more onerous.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 15, 2024
Global investors plow into Asia data centers on AI boom
Asia is becoming the latest hunting ground for investors in data centers, as companies bet on the region’s growing computing and data storage needs.
Mori Building CEO Shingo Tsuji speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Nov. 30.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 15, 2023
Mori’s CEO eyeing the next Roppongi Hills, casino resort in Tokyo
The real estate developer behind the towers that have reshaped central Tokyo’s skyline isn’t done yet.
The building at 245 Park Avenue, which housed the headquarters of Bear Stearns in the 1980s, in New York. Mori Trust bought a 49.9% stake in the building from SL Green Realty in June.
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2023
Japanese buyers snap up New York and London buildings in spree
Investors see attractive prices stemming from the real estate downturn, even as the yen’s weakness reduces purchasing power.
Japanese hotels have been among the most popular real estate investments in the Asia-Pacific region this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2023
Blackstone buys Kyoto hotel from Goldman in $54 million deal
Japanese hotels have been among the most popular real estate investments in the Asia-Pacific region this year.
Blackstone's headquarters in New York
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2023
Blackstone sees most Asia deal activity in Japan and India in 2024
The world’s largest alternative asset manager expects India and Japan to be its most active markets in Asia next year based on capital allocation.
The number of skiers and snowboarders in Japan has been declining, and is down about 75% in 2020 from its peak in the late 1990s, according to the Japan Productivity Center.
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2023
Skiing in Japan is getting a $1.4 billion upgrade
Ken Chan, the former Japan head of Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, aims to invest $1.4 billion in the resort of Myoko, Niigata Prefecture.
Shuhei Abe, founder of Sparx Group, is seeking to put his ideas into action with a so-called engagement fund to invest in well-run but undervalued Japanese businesses.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2023
Buffett spurs Japan activist pioneer to seek $2 billion for fund
Shuhei Abe is seeking to put his ideas into action with a so-called engagement fund to invest in well-run but undervalued Japanese businesses.
The Shiodome City Center building in Tokyo's Minato Ward
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2023
GIC considering sale of Tokyo skyscraper for over $2 billion
The sale plans come as a glut of new office supply is expected in Tokyo over the next two years, potentially tempering investor appetite.
Robust demand from visitors for lodgings and rising prices in Japan create an ideal scenario to fuel a boom for investment in hotels.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2023
Goldman, KKR and Blackstone join investor rush for Japan hotels
Compared with before the pandemic, visitors to Japan are spending more, with most of that money going on lodgings and hospitality.
Blackstone is working on more acquisitions in Japan with several bids out and properties like hotels and data centers in the pipeline.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 14, 2023
Blackstone eyes more Japan property after selling $4.5 billion
Real estate investments in Japan have been rosy compared to other countries, where rising costs have squeezed finances and workers have shunned offices.
Residential buildings in the Kachidoki area of Tokyo. The average unit price of newly supplied condominiums in the greater Tokyo area in the first six months of this year reached the highest level for the six-month period due to rising material and labor costs and higher land prices.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2023
Tokyo's new condo prices surge 60% to a record in first half of year
The average price of a new apartment in central Tokyo jumped 60% to ¥129.6 million ($930,000) in the January to June period.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2023
Tokyo's new condo prices surge 60% to a record in first half of year
The average price of a new apartment in central Tokyo jumped 60% to ¥129.6 million ($930,000) in the January to June period.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 29, 2023
Shareholder demands prompt Japan firms to seek investor relations talent
Under growing scrutiny, companies are turning to investment funds, banks and other financial firms to find people who can better communicate corporate strategy and capital allocation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 12, 2023
Hong Kong’s Gaw eyes more property deals in Japan on TSMC push
Gaw, which already manages $3.8 billion of property assets in Japan, has just begun its search in Kyushu.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 11, 2023
Lower Tokyo office vacancy rate gives relief to market after COVID-19
Historically, the city has recorded vacancy rates in the low single digits, but the market may be settling into a new normal of higher levels considering the change in work trends.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2023
Rothschild taps ex-Daiwa banker to bolster Japan expansion
The French investment bank hired Yuichi Akai to expand its Japan business and grow its team in the country.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 18, 2023
Overseas share of Japan hotel investments at highest level since 2014
Observers say a combination of low rates, the weak yen and market stability has made Japanese real estate attractive for global investors amid pervasive economic uncertainty.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2023
Why Japanese banks are well placed to withstand banking crisis
Regulators and industry heads have been quick to say Japan’s financial system is sound, while analysts have been busy reassuring worried bank investors.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?