LIVING IN JAPAN
"Japanese Only" Listings Decoded: What the Landlord Is Actually Afraid Of
A Tokyo-based insider decodes "Japanese only" rental listings — the real fears behind them, when they're negotiable, and how to find…
LIVING IN JAPAN
Relocation & Living
Renting, guarantors, move-in costs, and the culture of actually living here.
All 5 articles
LIVING IN JAPAN
The Guarantor System Explained by Someone Who's Stood on Both Sides of It
How Japan's rental guarantor system works — the joint-and-several personal guarantor, the 2020 liability cap, guarantee companies — plus what tenant screening (nyukyo shinsa) checks and the documents foreign applicants need.
LIVING IN JAPAN
Guarantor Company vs Personal Guarantor: Why Tokyo Now Wants Both
Why are Tokyo landlords asking for both a guarantee company AND a personal guarantor?
LIVING IN JAPAN
Key Money (Reikin): The ¥0-Return Gift to Your Landlord, and How to Avoid It
What key money (reikin, 礼金) is, why none of it comes back, the four other move-in fees, a worked move-in-cash example for an average 23-ward family-type rental (Tokyo Kantei, Aug 2026), and when reikin is negotiable.
LIVING IN JAPAN
The Remote-Landlord Stack: How to Own and Run a Tokyo Rental From 8,000 Miles Away
A Tokyo-based insider's operating playbook for owning property from abroad: the four-person team you appoint, how the management structure you pick silently decides your 20.42% tax bill, money plumbing, and the failure modes that catch absentee owners.