Financial Services Agency Opens New Investigation into Illicit Real Estate Lending
Following the Suruga Bank scandal, there is a new financial institution being investigated for making fraudulent real estate loans in a Suruga Bank-type investment scheme. On Oct. 31st, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) announced that it was going to carry... More
Tampering with Customer Loan Documents Rampant at Tokyo Real Estate Company Tateru Inc.
An independent special audit committee established by TATERU Inc., a Tokyo-based real estate company listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has found that 31 of the company’s employees were involved in 350 cases of tampering... More
How to Claim Tax Deductions and Cash Back Benefits for Home Buyers in Japan: 2019 Incentives Explained
As the Abe administration has committed to raising the consumption tax to 10% on October 1, 2019, the government has also put forward various policies and incentives to keep consumer demand buoyant in the face of higher prices for everything... More
Japan to Give Preference to 8 Asian Countries for Specified Skills Residency Visa & Establish Measures to Support Foreign Workers
The Japanese government plans to bring in workers from eight Asian countries under the recent revision to the Immigration Control Act, which establishes two new visa residency statuses, in a major change to Japan’s immigration policy that will allow lower skilled... More
Living in Japan
Specified Skills Visa is Now Official: 345,150 Foreign Workers to be Accepted into Japan in First 5 Years
In the early morning hours of December 8th, the Japanese Diet passed a major revision to the Immigration Control Act, codifying into law two new visa residency statuses that will allow a significant increase in the number of blue collar... More
Living in Japan
Should foreigners learn Japanese if they want to live in Japan? Proposed Law to Require Promotion of Japanese Language Education for Foreigners
A non-partisan government organization, the National League for Promotion of Japanese Language Education has proposed a bill entitled the “Japanese Language Education Promotion Bill” (日本語教育推進法案, Nihongo Kyouiku Suishin Houan) that will require the government and local authorities to implement Japanese education measures... More
Buying Property in Japan
How the 2019 Consumption Tax Increase Will Affect Home Buyers and Sellers in Japan
Real Estate Japan recently conducted an e-mail interview with Shinichi Kawamura on how the announced October 2019 consumption tax increase (from 8% to 10%) will affect Japan’s residential real estate market. Mr. Kawamura is CEO of LINC KK, a real... More