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Tokyo has selected the first project under a new program that uses older privately owned buildings to create below-market rental housing. The project, awarded to Yasuda Real Estate and announced August 19th, will renovate an aging mixed-use building in Kanda-Nishikicho, Chiyoda Ward, into affordable housing and commercial space. Rents for the affordable units will use 80% of comparable nearby rents as a benchmark. Tokyo Metro Government Building. Photo by Kevin Richardson on

Japan’s Flat 35 mortgage program will allow buyers of existing homes to include certain minor renovation costs in their home loan from September 1, 2026, reducing a financing hurdle for properties that need relatively simple work after purchase. Photo by Roselyn Tirado on Unsplash The Japan Housing Finance Agency (JHF) announced the change on August 18. It applies to renovation work that does not affect whether a property meets Flat 35’s technical standards. Flat 35 is a long

Greater Tokyo condominium asking rents reached another 12-month high in July, with the regional average rising for a second consecutive month as Tokyo, Kanagawa and Saitama all moved higher. Average advertised rent for condominium units offered for lease across Greater Tokyo rose 0.4% from June to ¥4,209 per square meter, according to Tokyo Kantei data released August 17. The figure was 9.1% higher than a year earlier. Tokyo rose 0.5% month on month to an average of ¥4,96

Aman Niseko is scheduled to open in 2030 with 31 private residences and a 30-suite resort on Mount Moiwa, adding a new branded-residence option to Hokkaido’s international ski property market. The residences are planned as freestanding, two-story homes rather than units in a condominium building. Aman says they will have one to three bedrooms, loft-style mezzanine space, terraces and dedicated ski rooms, with customization available for individual owners. Residence CG renderi

On August 3rd, Bloomberg Surveillance devoted extensive coverage to recent U.S. support for Japan’s efforts to intervene in the currency market. The program included an interview with Jeremy Stretch of CIBC, who examined why the coordinated action was significant, the market conditions that shaped its timing and the underlying pressures that continue to weigh on the yen. Key Points: The latest intervention may have slowed the yen’s decline, but the forces driving its weakness