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Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2017

Land ownership riddles in aging Japan come at a cost, stifle economy

When Sparx Green Energy & Technology, a renewable energy firm, found an ideal plot of land on which to build a solar panel factory, there was a catch. The three people on public record as the owners of the land had died years earlier.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 31, 2016

Getting too cozy to the next-door neighbors

In its Dec. 20 issue, Asahi Shimbun reported on a couple in their 60s living in Saitama City. Two years ago their neighbor installed an Eco Cute system that uses heat pump technology to heat water more efficiently and, thus, reduce electricity costs. But since the system was installed, the older couple's...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Jul 2, 2016

A rise in vacancies won't mean drops in rent

According to the June 11 issue of Nikkan Gendai, the vacancy rate for rental properties in the 23 wards of Tokyo is currently 33.7 percent, while in surrounding prefectures, it's even higher: 35.5 percent in Kanagawa and 34.1 percent in Chiba.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Apr 2, 2016

Low interest rates cause spike in refinancing

It has been more than a month since the Bank of Japan introduced negative interest rates in its bid to revitalize the economy. For consumers, the rate change is a mixed blessing. Obviously, interest on deposits will not go up any time soon, but anyone thinking of buying a house or condominium can get...
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
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 17, 2022

Property markets work better when the line doesn’t always go up

Japan's housing sector has been flat for years. But if dwellings are plentiful and attainable, why should that be a bad thing?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2022

China’s property crash sends billionaire founders heading to exits

The nation's worsening credit crisis has led to defaults, failure to deliver homes on time and an unrelenting market selloff.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 9, 2022

A tiny Tokyo apartment: ‘I wouldn’t live anywhere else’

Meet the young Japanese who have decided to live in a shoe box.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 29, 2022

China’s Politburo signals no big stimulus despite slowdown

Instead, the country's top leaders are calling on officials to ensure that housing projects are completed following a wave of mortgage boycotts.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2022

Property crisis traps China into a market paradox

The effort to halt the spread of mortgage boycotts risks fueling the behavior officials are trying to prevent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
May 2, 2022

Chatan resort thriving as symbol of Okinawa’s growth, 50 years after reversion

The town, home to the American Village commercial and entertainment complex, has seen its finances strengthen thanks in part to an increase in property tax revenue from inbound companies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 5, 2022

Plan to demolish 39 towers in Hainan pose latest threat to Evergrande's fortunes

The order is among the most extreme in a spate of government actions to seize the firm's property and land holdings, underscoring risks to its most-prized assets.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2021

Chips, coal and property top China traders’ plenum watch list

After a yearlong regulatory crackdown, investors are on high alert for the risk of more policy change as the Communist Party kicks off a major convention this week.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 18, 2021

China's economy stumbles on power crunch and property woes

GDP grew 4.9% in the July-September period from a year earlier, the weakest clip since the third quarter of 2020 and missing forecasts.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2021

Down is still up for foreign investors piling into China

Like the demise of Enron Corp. and the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the debacle at China Evergrande Group was inevitable to some only in retrospect.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2021

China targets Evergrande risks with $1.55 billion bank deal

The bank stake transaction underscores the mounting pressure on billionaire Hui Ka Yan to spin off and sell assets to pay down a mountain of debt.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2021

Evergrande meltdown drives down stocks with few links to China

The chain reaction triggered by the Chinese real estate developer's debt worries may say more about the extreme altitude of global risk assets than it does about economic contagion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 2, 2021

Goldman chooses new Tokyo headquarters, reaffirming commitment to office life

The bank's chief executive officer, David Solomon, has been vocal in opposing work from home, calling it an 'aberration.”
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Apr 5, 2021

Moving house in a pandemic: As our 6-year-old got older, we realized it was time for an upgrade

In the first of a three-part series, our writer outlines the twists and turns his family encountered when they opted to look for a new place to live.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 3, 2020

Property funds feel pinch as Tokyo population drops amid pandemic

Analysts say people are moving to suburbs instead of staying near the office as they work from home amid virus-related curbs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 25, 2020

China developer Evergrande spooks investors with liquidity crunch warning

If the firm fails to win approval for a listing in Shenzen it will need to repay debt valued at around 92 percent of its cash, threatening the broader financial system.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 23, 2019

Lone Star-Unizo employees' offer raises bar in bidding war with Blackstone

Unizo Holdings Co.'s latest takeover offer is seen raising the bar for Blackstone Group Inc., which has been the most persistent bidder in the war for the Japanese real estate operator.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 10, 2019

For sale: The Chrysler Building, New York's Art Deco icon

The Chrysler Building, an Art Deco masterpiece that has been a defining image of New York City's skyline for decades, has been put up for sale, a minority owner of the building and a broker hired to market the property said on Wednesday.

Longform

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