https://tokyopropertyinsider.com Japan's property and financial markets, for curious foreigners — from a licensed Tokyo agent. en https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a01_can-foreigners-buy-property-in-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a01_can-foreigners-buy-property-in-japan Yes, foreigners can buy property in Japan with zero restrictions. A licensed real estate agent explains what's actually true, what the catch is, and what… Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a02_foreign-property-ownership-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a02_foreign-property-ownership-japan Japan's law is wide open for foreign buyers. So why do so many deals fall apart? A licensed real estate agent explains the real barriers — none of them legal. Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a03_buying-first-property-in-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a03_buying-first-property-in-japan From repair fund traps to inheritance surprises, a licensed real estate agent shares the five things that blindside first-time foreign buyers in Japan. Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a04_buy-tokyo-condo-on-tourist-visa https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a04_buy-tokyo-condo-on-tourist-visa Yes, you can buy Tokyo property on a tourist visa. A licensed real estate agent walks through exactly what's possible, what you need to arrange beforehand… Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a05_do-you-need-to-live-in-japan-to-own-property https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a05_do-you-need-to-live-in-japan-to-own-property You don't need to live in Japan to own property here. A licensed real estate agent explains what you actually need as a non-resident landlord — and what… Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a06_freehold-forever-japan-foreign-ownership https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a06_freehold-forever-japan-foreign-ownership Most countries restrict foreign land ownership. Japan doesn't. A licensed real estate agent explains why Japan's freehold system is unusual — and what it… Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a07_beginners-roadmap-buying-property-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a07_beginners-roadmap-buying-property-japan A licensed Tokyo real estate agent walks you through every step of buying Japanese property as a foreigner — from first search to title deed. Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a08_what-i-wish-id-known-before-first-japan-property https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a08_what-i-wish-id-known-before-first-japan-property A licensed Tokyo real estate agent and property operator shares the real lessons from a first Japanese property purchase — the surprises nobody puts in the… Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a16_japanese-property-purchase-process https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a16_japanese-property-purchase-process The full Japanese property purchase timeline explained in 9 concrete steps — what happens, who does what, and how long each stage actually takes. Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a17_property-settlement-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a17_property-settlement-japan A minute-by-minute walkthrough of the Japanese property settlement meeting — who's there, what's handed over, and what to watch for. Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a18_juyo-jiko-setsumeisho-explained https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a18_juyo-jiko-setsumeisho-explained The Important Matters statement is Japan's mandatory pre-contract disclosure document. Here's what's in it, what agents gloss over, and what to challenge. Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a19_japan-property-sales-contract https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a19_japan-property-sales-contract The purchase contract is Japan's binding property agreement. Here's every clause that matters for foreign buyers — including the ones agents rush past. Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a20_how-long-to-buy-property-in-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a20_how-long-to-buy-property-in-japan How long does buying property in Japan actually take? A week-by-week timeline covering search, contract, mortgage, and settlement — with the real delays built… Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a21_making-offer-japan-kaitsuke-shoumei-sho https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a21_making-offer-japan-kaitsuke-shoumei-sho A Tokyo licensed real estate agent explains how Japan's offer letter works, how to negotiate price, and what's binding before you sign the purchase contract. Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a22_shiho-shoshi-judicial-scrivener-japan-property https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a22_shiho-shoshi-judicial-scrivener-japan-property A Tokyo licensed real estate agent explains what a judicial scrivener actually does in Japanese property transactions, how they protect buyers, and what they… Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a23_japan-property-registration-toki-explained https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/a23_japan-property-registration-toki-explained A Tokyo licensed real estate agent explains Japan's property registration system — what gets recorded, what it costs, and why it matters more than your… Buying / Finance / Legal / Tax https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b01_minato-ward-property https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b01_minato-ward-property Azabu, Roppongi, Akasaka — Minato Ward sits at the top of Tokyo's market. A licensed real estate professional breaks down prices, neighborhoods, and what… Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b02_minato-ward-investment-yield https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b02_minato-ward-investment-yield Minato Ward yields run 2–3.5%. So why do serious investors still buy there? A licensed real estate professional makes the capital-appreciation case — and… Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b03_chuo-ward-tokyo-property https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b03_chuo-ward-tokyo-property Chuo Ward means Ginza's luxury strip, Nihonbashi's finance core, and Tsukishima's tower belt. Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b04_shibuya-ward-property-guide https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b04_shibuya-ward-property-guide Shibuya Ward's best addresses — Daikanyama, Ebisu, Shoto — sit at Tokyo's lifestyle-prestige crossroads. Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b05_setagaya-ward-property https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b05_setagaya-ward-property Setagaya is Tokyo's most populated ward — low-rise, green, and family-oriented. A licensed real estate professional explains pricing, top neighborhoods, and… Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b06_shinjuku-ward-kagurazaka-vs-kabukicho-risk https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b06_shinjuku-ward-kagurazaka-vs-kabukicho-risk A licensed Tokyo real estate professional compares Kagurazaka's stable investment case with the real risks of buying near Kabukicho in Shinjuku Ward. Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b07_central-five-wards-ranked-price-yield-liquidity https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b07_central-five-wards-ranked-price-yield-liquidity A licensed Tokyo real estate professional ranks Minato, Chiyoda, Chuo, Shibuya & Shinjuku wards on price per sqm, gross yield, and exit liquidity for foreign… Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b08_setagaya-ward-guide-tokyo-family-investment https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b08_setagaya-ward-guide-tokyo-family-investment A licensed Tokyo real estate professional covers Setagaya Ward — Sangenjaya, Shimokitazawa & Yoga — for foreign investors looking at Tokyo's most stable… Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b10_tokyo-redevelopment-projects https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b10_tokyo-redevelopment-projects A buyer's map of Tokyo's redevelopment wave — Azabudai, Toranomon, Shibuya, Yaesu/Nihonbashi, Shinagawa/Takanawa, the Bay, and Nishi-Shinjuku — who's building, when it finishes, and what it does to nearby property values. Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b11_azabudai-hills https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b11_azabudai-hills A clear-eyed insider's map of the Mori-led super-tall cluster across Azabudai, Toranomon and Roppongi — the branded residences, international tenants, record prices, and who actually buys here and why. Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b12_shibuya-redevelopment https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b12_shibuya-redevelopment How Shibuya's "once-in-a-century" station rebuild — Scramble Square, Sakura Stage, Miyashita Park — reshaped a creative-tech tenant base and pulled residential demand toward Daikanyama and Ebisu. Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b13_nihonbashi-yaesu-real-estate https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b13_nihonbashi-yaesu-real-estate Tokyo's business core is shifting east, from Marunouchi across the tracks into Yaesu and Nihonbashi. Here's where the trophy-office money lands, what it does to nearby homes, and how a foreign buyer plays the spillover. Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b14_shinagawa-takanawa-gateway-property https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b14_shinagawa-takanawa-gateway-property JR East's Takanawa Gateway City is open and the maglev is coming to Shinagawa. Here is what the southern Tokyo transformation means for foreign buyers, and where the early-positioning money actually is. Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b15_tokyo-bay-area-property https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b15_tokyo-bay-area-property An honest insider's map to Tokyo's bay-area tower-mansion belt — Toyosu, Ariake, Harumi and the Harumi Flag legacy. Real numbers on price, yield, family demand, and the trade-offs of waterfront tower living vs the central wards. Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b16_nishi-shinjuku-redevelopment https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/b16_nishi-shinjuku-redevelopment Tokyo's original 1970s skyscraper district is being rebuilt for 2030s demand. Here's the Nishi-Shinjuku redevelopment pipeline, the Shinjuku Station West tower, and what it means for foreign buyers. Markets / Locations https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c01_gross-vs-net-yield-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c01_gross-vs-net-yield-japan That 8% gross yield on Japanese listing sites hides costs that cut returns in half. Here's every deduction, line by line, from gross to net yield in Japan. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c02_hyomen-rimawari-gross-yield-trap https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c02_hyomen-rimawari-gross-yield-trap Japanese listing sites quote gross yield (hyomen rimawari) — a figure that excludes vacancy, taxes, and fees. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c03_net-rental-yield-tokyo https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c03_net-rental-yield-tokyo A full line-by-line breakdown of every cost that reduces your gross rental yield to net in Tokyo — from acquisition tax to property management, repair… Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c04_cap-rate-japan-real-estate https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c04_cap-rate-japan-real-estate Cap rate is the standard commercial real estate metric everywhere except Japan, where agents quote gross yield instead. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c05_cash-on-cash-return-japan-property https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c05_cash-on-cash-return-japan-property When you borrow to buy Tokyo property, cap rate and net yield stop telling the full story. Cash-on-cash return measures what your actual equity earns. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c06_irr-tokyo-apartment-10-year-worked-example https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c06_irr-tokyo-apartment-10-year-worked-example IRR ties together purchase price, annual cash flows, and sale proceeds into one return figure. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c07_setagaya-1k-full-yield-breakdown https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c07_setagaya-1k-full-yield-breakdown A full worked example: ¥30M Setagaya 1K apartment, every cost from gross yield to after-tax cash flow. Line-by-line for foreign investors in Japan. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c08_minato-4pct-beats-gunma-8pct https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c08_minato-4pct-beats-gunma-8pct Higher yield doesn't mean higher return. Here's why Minato's 4% net yield can outperform rural Japan's 8% on a total-return basis. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c81_japan-minpaku-180-day-rule https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c81_japan-minpaku-180-day-rule Japan's minpaku law caps short-term rentals at 180 nights per year. Here's how that ceiling reshapes your ADR targets, cleaning economics, and net yield math. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c82_minpaku-vs-ryokan-license-japan-str https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c82_minpaku-vs-ryokan-license-japan-str Japan's two STR license paths have completely different revenue ceilings, facility rules, and risk profiles. Here's how to choose before you buy. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c83_revpar-minpaku-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c83_revpar-minpaku-japan Occupancy and ADR tell half the story. RevPAR (revenue per available room night) is the single metric that shows how well your Japan minpaku is actually… Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c84_kyoto-machiya-airbnb-income https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c84_kyoto-machiya-airbnb-income A Kyoto machiya (traditional townhouse) looks like the perfect Airbnb. But municipal restrictions cap operating days far below 180. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c85_tokyo-minpaku-profit-margin https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c85_tokyo-minpaku-profit-margin What does a Tokyo minpaku actually net after OTA commissions, cleaning, management, and utilities? Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c86_str-60-percent-occupancy-vs-long-term-rental-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c86_str-60-percent-occupancy-vs-long-term-rental-japan The STR vs long-term rental comparison in Japan isn't always won by Airbnb. Here's the breakeven analysis that tells you which wins for your property. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c87_tokku-minpaku-loophole-180-day-cap-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c87_tokku-minpaku-loophole-180-day-cap-japan Japan's special-zone minpaku (tokku minpaku) license removes the 180-day cap. Here's where it exists, what it costs, and whether it pencils out. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c88_tokyo-adr-benchmarks-by-neighborhood-2026 https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/c88_tokyo-adr-benchmarks-by-neighborhood-2026 Directional ADR benchmarks for Tokyo minpaku by ward and neighborhood for 2026 — sourced from operator experience, not just platform marketing data. Strategy / Yield / STR / Macro https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d36_why-landlords-reject-foreigners-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d36_why-landlords-reject-foreigners-japan A licensed Japanese real estate professional explains the real reasons landlords reject foreign tenants — language risk, guarantor gaps, and the parts that… Relocation / Operating / Culture https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d37_japanese-only-apartment-listings https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d37_japanese-only-apartment-listings A Tokyo licensed real estate professional decodes "Japanese only" rental listings — the real fears behind them, when they're negotiable, and how to find… Relocation / Operating / Culture https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d38_japan-rental-guarantor-system https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d38_japan-rental-guarantor-system A Tokyo licensed real estate professional explains Japan's rental guarantor system from both sides — as a tenant who needed one and as a licensed agent who's… Relocation / Operating / Culture https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d39_guarantor-company-japan-rent https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d39_guarantor-company-japan-rent Why are Tokyo landlords asking for both a guarantee company AND a personal guarantor? Relocation / Operating / Culture https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d40_key-money-reikin-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d40_key-money-reikin-japan A Tokyo licensed real estate professional explains key money (reikin) — the non-refundable gift to your landlord — where it came from, how much it costs, and… Relocation / Operating / Culture https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d41_reikin-shikikin-chukai-japan-move-in-fees https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d41_reikin-shikikin-chukai-japan-move-in-fees A licensed Tokyo real estate professional decodes Japan's 5 move-in fees — what each is, why it exists, and how to reduce your upfront costs as a foreign… Relocation / Operating / Culture https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d42_passed-rental-screening-foreigner-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d42_passed-rental-screening-foreigner-japan A licensed Tokyo real estate professional shares the exact document changes and guarantor switch that helped a foreign renter pass tenant screening after two… Relocation / Operating / Culture https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d43_rental-application-documents-foreigners-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/d43_rental-application-documents-foreigners-japan A licensed Tokyo real estate professional lists every document needed for Japan rental applications as a foreigner, plus the one missing item that causes the… Relocation / Operating / Culture https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e01_why-world-underestimates-tokyo https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e01_why-world-underestimates-tokyo The global narrative says Japan is in decline. The on-the-ground reality in Tokyo says otherwise — and the gap between the two is where the opportunity sits. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e02_yen-30-year-low-story https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e02_yen-30-year-low-story How the yen hit a 30-year low, why it slashes the USD entry price into Tokyo property, and the two-bet thesis every foreign buyer should understand. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e03_japan-two-speed-country https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e03_japan-two-speed-country Japan isn't uniformly shrinking — it's sorting. Depopulation is funneling people, jobs, and capital into Tokyo while rural towns hollow out. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e04_tokyo-vs-world-million-dollars https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e04_tokyo-vs-world-million-dollars We walked $1M through 8 global cities. The Tokyo number will make you do a double-take — and the yield might change how you think about property. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e05_japan-bubble-to-bargain https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e05_japan-bubble-to-bargain How Japan's property market went from the world's most extreme bubble to one of the most misunderstood bargains — a 35-year story you need to know. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e10_buy-tokyo-property-weak-yen https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e10_buy-tokyo-property-weak-yen The yen near ¥160/USD is its weakest in roughly four decades. For dollar, euro and Singapore-dollar buyers, that FX move has more than offset rising yen condo prices — Tokyo is on sale in your home currency, but it's a window, not a permanent feature. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e11_tokyo-rental-yield-2026 https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e11_tokyo-rental-yield-2026 After three decades of flat rents, Tokyo has entered a multi-year rent-reflation cycle. For foreign buyers, this turns a cheap-currency trade into a genuine, compounding income story — with the central wards leading. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e12_is-tokyo-real-estate-a-good-investment-despite-japans-declin https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e12_is-tokyo-real-estate-a-good-investment-despite-japans-declin Foreigners fear Japan's falling population, but Tokyo's 23 wards keep hitting record highs with 96%+ occupancy while 40 of 47 prefectures lose people. You're buying the drain the whole country flows into, not a melting ice cube. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e13_tokyo-rental-yield-vs-new-york-london-comparison https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e13_tokyo-rental-yield-vs-new-york-london-comparison Among the world's top global cities, Tokyo is the rare one where a tier-1 address still throws off real cash yield. Here's the income gap versus New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney, and why financing and tax friction widen it further. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e14_can-foreigners-own-land-in-japan-freehold https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e14_can-foreigners-own-land-in-japan-freehold In most of Asia, foreigners cannot own land outright. Japan is the rare exception, granting full freehold title to land and building with no residency, visa, quota, or approval board. Here is why that turns Tokyo property into a permanent, inheritable asset. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e15_japan-real-estate-safe-haven-investment https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e15_japan-real-estate-safe-haven-investment Tokyo property isn't a high-yield gamble — it's a capital-preservation play built on a clean central title registry, top-tier rule of law, near-zero violent crime, and decades of policy continuity. Here's why foreign money fleeing riskier Asian markets is hitting record highs in Japan, and how to act on it. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e16_tokyo-airbnb-investment-for-foreigners https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e16_tokyo-airbnb-investment-for-foreigners Japan is racing toward 60 million annual tourists with too few rooms to house them. A licensed short-term rental is one of the few ways a foreign buyer turns that gap into yen cash flow. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e17_japan-real-estate-inflation-hedge https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e17_japan-real-estate-inflation-hedge After 30 years, the Bank of Japan is hiking rates and inflation is beating target. The regime that punished hard assets has flipped, and Tokyo property is the cleanest way for a foreign buyer to ride nominal reflation with cheap leverage. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e18_tokyo-trophy-real-estate-investment https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e18_tokyo-trophy-real-estate-investment A 30-year, multi-trillion-yen redevelopment super-cycle is manufacturing a new tier of scarce, globally-benchmarked trophy assets in central Tokyo. Here is why foreign buyers can still get in before the repricing finishes — and how to position around the comparables being built right now. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e19_is-it-safe-to-buy-property-in-tokyo-earthquake https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e19_is-it-safe-to-buy-property-in-tokyo-earthquake Foreign buyers reflexively discount Tokyo property for earthquake risk, but the danger lives in old pre-1981 wooden housing in rural Japan, not the modern steel-and-concrete towers investors actually buy. That mispricing is your discount. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e20_can-foreigners-buy-property-in-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e20_can-foreigners-buy-property-in-japan In Tokyo you get full freehold ownership and a public, court-backed title registry — no ownership caps, no approval board, no nominee. A licensed agent explains why that rare combination lets you enter and exit cleanly. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e21_japan-mortgage-rate-for-foreigners https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e21_japan-mortgage-rate-for-foreigners Japan is the last major developed market where a qualified resident can lock decades of fixed financing near 2% — a 4-plus-point gap over the U.S. that turns leverage into an edge. Here's how it works and why the window is closing. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e22_japan-property-depreciation-foreigners https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e22_japan-property-depreciation-foreigners Japan taxes the building, not the land, on a fixed schedule. A used wooden house past its 22-year life can be written off in about 4 years, generating large paper losses that shelter a non-resident's rental income against the 20.42% withholding default. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e23_tokyo-property-price-per-square-meter https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e23_tokyo-property-price-per-square-meter On a prime price-per-square-metre basis, Tokyo trades at roughly half of London and well below New York and Hong Kong, despite being the largest metro economy on earth with deep liquidity and clean title. The repricing has already started, and the floor-space-per-dollar gap is the clearest signal of where global capital is heading next. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e24_buy-akiya-japan-foreigner https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e24_buy-akiya-japan-foreigner The viral "free abandoned Japanese house" story sends foreigners to the worst-performing corner of the market. Here is why akiya are the wrong trade, and where the data says the money actually sits. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e25_weak-yen-buy-japan-real-estate https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e25_weak-yen-buy-japan-real-estate A dollar buyer of Tokyo property is making two bets at once — on the building and on the yen. With the yen near 37-year lows and ~40-50% below fair value, the currency leg may be the bigger edge. Here is how to see it, and how to hedge it. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e26_tokyo-expat-rental-property-investment https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e26_tokyo-expat-rental-property-investment Why the relocated foreign executive — whose rent is paid by a corporate budget, not their own wallet — is the most defensible rental income a foreign buyer can own in central Tokyo's three core wards. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e27_japan-akiya-buy-foreigner-inheritance https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e27_japan-akiya-buy-foreigner-inheritance Japan's demographic death cross and a 10-month inheritance-tax clock are turning a wall of inherited homes into discounted, motivated supply. A licensed agent explains how a foreign buyer captures it. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e28_tokyo-central-ward-land-price-appreciation https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e28_tokyo-central-ward-land-price-appreciation In Japan the building depreciates toward zero, but the land compounds. Tokyo's five central wards are repricing dirt structurally faster than the rest of the city as trophy redevelopments, office and hotel demand, and office-to-housing conversion squeeze the same plots. Here is how a foreign buyer targets the land share that actually appreciates. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e29_is-it-too-late-to-buy-tokyo-property-2026 https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e29_is-it-too-late-to-buy-tokyo-property-2026 Wage growth is finally inflecting, inbound tourism is on a government-backed path to 60 million, and Osaka is opening a second engine. For foreign buyers of Japanese property, the structural tailwinds peak in the 2030s, which means today's buyer is early, not late. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e30_why-buy-property-in-tokyo-not-rural-japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e30_why-buy-property-in-tokyo-not-rural-japan Japan is shrinking, but Tokyo is gaining people, companies, and capital. For a foreign buyer, that gap between the "Japan is dying" headline and Tokyo's reality is the whole opportunity — buy the one market that keeps winning, priced by a country that is losing. The Market / Why Japan https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e31_tokyo-property-price-history-2012-to-2025 https://tokyopropertyinsider.com/articles/e31_tokyo-property-price-history-2012-to-2025 Since Abenomics began in 2012, Tokyo condo prices roughly doubled in yen while the yen lost half its dollar value. We run the real numbers on the foreign buyer who waited — and show why every year of patience has compounded the bill. The Market / Why Japan