Many agree with the new regime in Nagatacho that the bureaucracy needs to be reduced, but some of us may be more selective than others. I sincerely hope that the Urban Renaissance Agency (Toshi Saisei Kiko) remains untouched, because I rent an apartment from them. I could understand why the Koizumi administration wanted to privatize the agency, but was more than relieved when they failed. Renting a public apartment is much, much easier than renting a private one: there's no need for a guarantor, no gift money (reikin), and no rental contract renewal fees (koshinryo), a "custom" that has been legally challenged but doesn't seem to be going away any time soon.

One of the myths about public housing in Japan, at least among foreigners, is that it's for poor people. Some public housing run by local governments is designated for low-income families, but UR rents are set by the market, so in theory they are the same as those for private apartments. However, because UR is not supposed to make a profit (strictly speaking, UR is a semi-public entity), in practice they tend to be cheaper. I calculate that the rent for my apartment is about 15-20 percent less than a comparably sized unit in the privately run building across the street. Moreover, the management fees (kanrihi) for public housing are lower than the ones for private housing.