Monthly Archives: August 2018

Pitfall of the condo unit investment in Japan : Management company and work matter

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There are many apartment buildings which are failing in the their management in Japan.If you live in the apartment buildings you have to be cautiously attentive how your building is managed.

What about the property for the investment ?

KENBIYA (major Japanese property web site) recently wrote an interesting story about the management of the residential buildings (both for living and investment) 

As an investor, perhaps the management of the building does not seem to be your business but I have to warn you that actually the management of many residential buildings for the investment is more likely to
be failing.

But Why  ?

The reason is very simple. Owners (investors) don’t care because they don’t live there.
In some cases monthly management fee (管理費）is not paid by many owners, management fee (fund) is spent improperly. In some cases someone took the money and run away.

Case 1
Serious trouble of the property for investment that were built the bubble period.
One of the relatively common examples is the an apartment in Tokyo, which is close to the city center.
These buildings (usually with units of studios) were built as a tax saving measure for salaried workers in the bubble period.

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Fast track for permanent residency for highly skilled foreigners :Japan’s Groundbreaking New Green Card system

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Japan dramatically relaxed Green Card system !
Bold new opportunity to obtain Japan’s new Green Card.
Are you interested in Japanese Green Card with Japan’s social security and universal healthcare service ?
Here is what you should do. 
Invest in the property here and get the ‘business manager’ status.
Japan is facing the acute shortage of workforce.
To address the issue, Prime Minister Abe has been drastically relaxing the immigration control for both low skilled workers and high skilled professionals.
Japan needs both low skilled workers as well as advanced skilled managers.
There is a new visa category called Highly-Skilled Professionals (HSP).This new category was relaxed dramatically last year and now Japanese government is offering preferential treatment for the category, which makes applicants much easier to apply for the so-called
‘GREEN CARD’.

In this relaxed category, HSP can apply for ‘GREEN CARD’ earliest within ONE YEAR (subject to your points) after you
get status of HSP. The Green Card application procedure is based on the points-based system.
The new approach follows the government’s introduction of a point system for highly skilled professionals in 2012.
Under this system, people are scored according to factors such as academic background, career background and annual salary, and are categorized under the field of “academic research,” “technical activities,” or “business management.”Read more

The lure of Japan’s hidden treasures “Akiya” : Why are so many houses empty in Japan ?

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Terrifying hidden crisis or treasures ?
In Japan, recycling is so much part of our culture.
And yet, it is also the norm for Japanese to demolish their houses with almost less thought than most people would give to disposing beloved ceramic bowls.
People believe homes are usually built to last 50 odd years. Japanese building culture is often described as ‘scrap and build’.
The reasons for this phenomenon range from the ageing to need for constantly updating building technology as it revolves.
With shrinking population, the result is a housing problem that is the opposite of what most countries face. Japan has too many houses that no one wants.
According to the government statistics, the number of vacant houses (空き家、akiya) in 2013 reached 8.2 million.
(But the 8.2 million includes houses/apartment units for rent that are only vacant temporarily as owners try to find tenants or buyers. So genuine empty homes that have been abandoned altogether number about 3 million)
Moreover, many who inherit a house are unable to sell them because of a shortage of interested buyers. The problem is particularly acute in rural areas.
According to one statistics, the top ten ranking of akiya in prefectures as of 2013 was as follows.
(The number indicates the percentage of akiya in dwellings of  each prefecture)
In these prefectures, 1 out 5 properties are empty.

1.Yamanashi   22%
2.Nanago        19.8%
3.Wakayama   18.1%
4.Kochi            17.8%
5.Tokushima    17.5%
5.  Ehime          17.5%
7. Kagawa        17.2%
8. Kagoshima   17.0% 
9.Gunma           16.6%
10.Tochigi          16.3%
10. Shizuoka     16.3%

（top10 ranking)

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