Yamamoto

You want to get Japan’s green card by the real estate investment ? : Here is what you practically should do

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Here is an idea worth considering. Imagine being able to get Japan’s new green card only in a year.
Japan needs more skilled foreign workers.
To attract more foreign workers, Japanese government relaxed requirements for permanent residency (so-called green card) last April (2018)
Before relaxing the requirement, high skilled professional (HSP) workers had to stay in Japan for at least five years before applying for green card, but now just one year is required.
In fact, it is the fastest green card system in the developed countries.
Some pundits are saying relaxed law will bring more foreign high skilled workers but whether it will be a game-changer remains to be seen.
Japan is also said to be a tough country for foreign workers to live due to the very unique traditions such as corporate culture and seniority system, which is another hurdle to clear even after obtaining the green card.
In 2012, Japan introduced a point system for skilled workers. The points are given based on individual backgrounds, including business experience, income, Japanese-language fluency and academic degrees. The system is intended to give preferential status to such skilled workers, including a shortened path for permanent residency.  When the system was enacted, those who had 70 points or more could apply for green card after five years. Normally, it takes 10 years to apply for the status.

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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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THE IMPACT of NATURAL DISASTERS. Nankai Trough Earthquake : Risk in Tokyo Bay from future tsunami

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Cleanup, rescue operations underway in Japan after severe rains kill over 200 people and strand thousands in the recent flooding and landslides in west Japan.

On Mar 11, 2011, a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed tens of thousands of lives.
It also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan’s worst postwar disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.
The devastating tsunami hit sites along the Tohoku coast. 
A public beach just opened in Rikuzentakata on July 20, 2018 for the first time in eight years, underscoring the destruction of sites.

In 1703, an 8.2 magnitude earthquake（Genroku earthquake) along the Sagami Trough triggered a tsunami that rippled towards Japan’s then capital, Edo. It is estimated that a couple of thousands lives were lost.
Japan has a lot of natural disasters and many foreign investors are worrying about it.
A major earthquake is expected to strike sometime along the Nankai Trough, a submarine trench running off the Japanese archipelago from around Shizuoka Prefecture in Honshu to the seas east of Kyushu.

How at risk is Tokyo Bay from future tsunami by Nankai Trough earthquake ?
The Nankai Trough is a 700-kilometer-long sea-bottom depression that runs about 100 km off the southern coast from Shizuoka Prefecture to the Shikoku region.

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Japan’s real estate price update: Price up for 3 consecutive years. Very strong growth in Tokyo buoyed by the booming inbound tourism

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(Ginza, Tokyo)

The results are in. You will be surprised to learn that Japan’s real estate price -at least some spots are- is breaking the record set during the bubble period.

On July 2, 2018, the National Taxation Bureau announced the average value of a square meter of land for tax assessment as of January 1 2018.The nationwide average price went up by 0.7% from the previous year and it increased for three consecutive years. By prefecture, growth is high in the three major metropolitan areas such as Tokyo (up 4.0%), Osaka (up 1.4%), Kyoto (up 2.2%), Aichi (up 1.5%)The rate of growth is higher in all three major metropolitan areas than the previous year.The rate of growth in core local prefectures is rather high such as Hokkaido (up 1.1%), Miyagi (up 37%), Hiroshima (up 1.5%), Fukuoka (up 2.6%).Average price in Okinawa was up 5.0% and it is the highest rate of increase in Japan.
Here are some key facts.

Tokyo
In Tokyo metropolitan, the average price went up 4.0%, the five consecutive years.
Ginza Chuo-dori has broken its record high for the second year in a row.The top appreciation in Tokyo was 15.8% at Aoyama Street, Minato-ku, Aoyama 3, which is also an upscale residential area. A number of luxury brand flagship stores are located in the area.In terms of growth rate, Aoyama regained the top place for the first time since 2007.The second spot is Adachi-ku Senju 3’s Kita-Senju Station West Exit Square  and it went up by 14.5%.In addition to the revitalization of the area due to the effect of a few universities campus being relocated, the convenience to the center of Tokyo boosted it.
These are the some major and the most expensive spots in Tokyo 23 wards.
(price per square meter ‘000 yen and the growth rate)Read more

How the investment in a local city works ? : Opportunity to invest in center of Sapporo residential building. No down payment is needed

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(Night life Susukino in Sapporo)　　　　　　（Odoori koen)
No down payment is needed.
Remarkable opportunity in Sapporo is up for sale in Sapporo.
One of my business partners has come across a pretty good property in Sapporo in northern Japan.We don’t usually deal with a property in Sapporo.
However, as the project already has passed the provisional review by a premier Japanese bank, I am introducing it on his behalf.
Let’s find out how viable it is.
Oh, by the way, If you seek investment that can expect the appreciation of 20% over next 3 years,
Japan is not your destination. Please go and find a property in countries like Thailand or Vietnam.

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How to avoid the severe flooding in Japan ? : Over 200 people died in recent floods and landslides

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（From NHK)

Over 200 people have died in floods and landslides triggered by the recent torrential rain in western Japan in July 2018.

It is the highest death toll caused by rainfall that Japan has seen in more than four decades.

In Japan, 1300 municipalities released the hazard maps.

They namely pinpoint locations at risk of floods or landslides.

There was a time when the disclosure of hazard information raised many eyebrows as fanning people’s fears and lowering property values.

But after we saw the recent worst flooding disaster in west of Japan in four decades, this is no longer the case.

In the Mabicho district of Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, the flooded areas reportedly corresponded exactly to what the hazard map showed. To date, more than 40 bodies have been recovered from severely flooded residential neighborhoods, now blanketed with mud.

CNN report

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Is it end of booming real estate market in Japan ? : Kenbiya latest quarterly report June 2018

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(Nomizo -no-taki(Nomizo fall), Chiba pref)
Is a tidal wave finished in Japan ? It is about time to to buy a property ?
Japan’s one of the major online web sites for the investment properties ‘Kenbiya’ recently announced the latest  market trend on the properties that are registered on the site in Japan.
It is not an official report by the public sectors but the research shows the quick snap shot of the market trend.The research results cover the period between April 2018 and June 2018
on properties in Japan for each market segment.
Let’s take a closer look at the result.
Overview on all Japan
Condo unit
The gross yield of registered properties is almost unchanged at 7.69% ( minus 0.02 points compared with the previous term).
The average price fell slightly to 14.24 million yen (-3.85% from the previous term).
Residential apartment building
The gross yield of registered properties rose slightly to 8.91% ( plus 0.13 points). The average price is 67.4 million yen ( minus 2.06% from the previous term).
The average price for the apartment buildings declined for the first time since 2013.
Residential condo building
Registered yield slightly increased to 8.06% (plus 0.09 points).
The average price slightly went up to 16,329,000 yen (plus 0.66%)

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New Survey Reveals the Bank loan Is the Biggest Challenge Facing in Real Estate Investment in Japan: But investors are still bullish

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Are you bullish or bearish ?
Two surveys by the major institutions revealed that both institutional investors and individual investors are bullish about the real estate market in Japan.
In the survey released by the Japanese real estate research institute in May, real estate price has been rising steadily due to the recovery of corporate performance and the expectations for the Tokyo Olympic Games and Abenomics.
The survey was conducted mainly for institutional investors.
However, 72 % of respondents say the real estate investment market is seeing the peak for the time being.
83.2% of respondents say many deals with remarkably low yields are appearing, compared to 68% in the previous survey in October 2017.
As for the view on investment in the next coming year, 90% of respondents say they will actively continue to make investments, up one point from the previous survey.
It indicates that the general consensus is still bullish.
Only 8% of respondents say they will be stopping the making new investment. Regarding the real estate market, attention is paid to interest rate trends in the United States and the monetary policy of the Bank of Japan.

As a whole investors’ willingness to invest is very positive
Regarding market expectation, the majority of institutional investors say that the market will expand in the next 6 months in both Tokyo and Osaka.Read more