Category: News
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Can Landlords Raise Rent in Japan? Tenant Rights Explained
Japan’s major cities have recently seen a sharp increase in rent-related disputes. For example, Osaka received only 74 consultations regarding rent hikes in fiscal 2024, but that figure jumped to 240 in fiscal 2025. Of the fiscal 2025 cases, 89 involved proposed rent increases of ¥10,000 or more. In some extreme cases, tenants were even More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Interest Rate Hike Brings More Price Reductions to Tokyo’s Condo Market
In June 2026, the Bank of Japan raised the benchmark interest rate to 1%. Higher benchmark rates lead banks to boost their own rates, making mortgages more expensive. Compared to Japan’s long history of sub-1% rates, for many this new hike has felt like a turning point, but it remains to be seen exactly how More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Japan Condo Repair Funds Fall Short as More Buildings Turn to Loans
Japan’s condo repair-reserve problem is no longer just a future worry. More owner associations are already borrowing money to get major repair work done. In FY2025, loans through the Japan Housing Finance Agency’s Mansion Sumai-ru Loan, reached about ¥40.6 billion on an accepted-application basis. That was a record high, up 58% from the previous fiscal More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Why “Central Tokyo” Is No Longer Enough When Buying a Condo
Tokyo has 6 “central” wards: Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo, and Shibuya. Some people have been looking at average asking prices for condos here and coming to flawed conclusions, which I’d like to clear up. Asking price, AKA listing price, shows what a seller is looking to get, but does not reflect true demand. That More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Japan Land Values Rise at Fastest Pace Since 2010, Led by Tokyo and Resort Areas
Japan’s land values rose again in 2026, with many of the strongest increases concentrated in places foreign buyers already pay attention to: central Tokyo, major tourist destinations, and internationally known resort areas. On July 1st, the National Tax Agency announced Japan’s 2026 roadside land values, or 路線価, based on values as of January 1st. The More
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Four Japanese Online Banks Team Up to Fight Mortgage Fraud
Four online Japanese banks, AEON Bank, PayPay Bank, au Jibun Bank, and SBI Shinsei Bank, have announced an agreement to work together to prevent mortgage fraud. In addition to sharing information about how people may attempt mortgage fraud, they will also share information on suspicious methods and malicious operators. Mortgage fraud affects the banking, housing, More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Japan May Survey Condo Purchases by Foreign Residents as Property Debate Continues
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is considering a survey on condominium transactions by foreign nationals living in Japan. The goal is to determine whether foreign nationals are engaging in speculative condo buying. This new survey could take place as soon as FY2027, and would expand beyond a previous MLIT survey that analyzed More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Tokyo Apartment and Mansion Rents Keep Climbing in 2026
A survey conducted in May 2026 by AtHome found that Tokyo rents have continued to rise. For the purposes of their data, “rent” specifically refers to advertised base rent, plus management and common-area fees. For a long time, many people looked at Japanese rent through the lens of Japan’s long deflationary period. Even in Tokyo, More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Japan to Tighten Leaseback Rules as Homeowner Complaints Rise
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, AKA MLIT, is moving to introduce tighter guidelines on leaseback contracts. Real estate companies are expected to be explicitly prohibited from intentionally withholding important information, with clearer disclosure potentially being required for contract cancellation conditions, rent amount, whether the lease can be renewed, and other terms that More
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Image credit: Nathan Reinholz Japan’s Minpaku Regulations Are Tightening: What Tokyo Property Buyers Should Know
The minpaku industry in Japan is seeing major shifts as local governments gain increased power over this unique form of lodging. While the national government has in the past viewed effective bans on minpaku as unnecessary and overreaching, the Tourism Agency now plans to instruct municipalities that they may restrict or effectively prohibit operations if More