The Japan Real Estate Loan Scandal Grows: How Many Mini-Suruga Banks Are Out There?
By Jeff Wynkoop Following the recent Suruga Bank scandal, another Japanese financial institution is suspected of giving out bogus real estate loans to meet internal sales goals. On Oct. 31st, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) announced that it was going... More
Living in Japan
Japan to Accept 40,000 Workers Under New Residency Visa in First Year: Is Japan Ready?
Japan will accept approximately 40,000 workers in the first year of implementation of the “Specified Skills” residency visa status, to ameliorate labor shortages in fourteen designated industries. The draft amendment to the Immigration Control Act was approved by the Cabinet... More
Tokyo 2020
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Village to be Reborn as High-Rise Apartments, Will Go on Sale in Spring of 2019
The buildings that will be used to host the Tokyo 2020 Olympic athletes village will be renovated after the Olympic and Paralympic games and sold as condominiums to the general public, with sales to start in May 2019. This is... More
Living in Japan
Japan to Consider Accepting Foreign Workers in 14 Industries Under New Residency Visa – Up From Original 5
The Japanese government has just approved a draft amendment to establish two new statuses of residence that would expand acceptance of foreign workers to Japan in 14 industries experiencing serious labor shortages, up from the five that were originally proposed.... More
Buying Property in Japan as a Foreigner
Can you afford to buy a home in Japan? And should you versus renting?
Home affordability has decreased for the average income earner in Japan for the last several years. This is based on data recently released by Tokyo Kantei’s annual home affordability survey. If you are thinking about buying a home in Japan,... More
AirBnb-Style Private Home Rental in Japan
What are the most popular Airbnb-Style private home rental destinations in Japan?
The Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) recently released the first set of stats on private home rental accommodations, known as minapku (民泊), since their nationwide legalization on June 15th, providing a first look at the most popular destinations, which nationalities are most represented... More
Suruga Bank to be Ordered to Suspend Real Estate Lending Operations
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (the “FSA”) has decided that in connection with Suruga Bank’s illicit share house financing scandal, it will issue an order to cease part of the business operations of the bank by the end of this week.... More