The headwinds for yen are getting stronger and threaten to push the currency to a six-year low against the dollar. A spike in global commodity prices spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is likely to worsen Japan’s trade deficit as the country is a net oil importer and may push the yen to 120 per dollar this year, said Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Mizuho Bank Ltd. and TD Securities both predict the currency will weaken to 117 by the end of June, from 114.82 on Friday.

The number of applications by Japanese citizens for the nation’s “Reverse 60” reverse mortgage loan program grew by 458 units year-over-year during the period of October-December 2021, coming out to a 44% increase, according to data released this month by the Japan Housing Finance Agency (JHF), a government-affiliated mortgage financial institution, and reported on by Tokyo real estate website Rethink Tokyo.

The price of new apartments in Tokyo toppled a 30-year-old record in 2021 as rising demand from dual-income households and increasing construction costs boosted the Japanese capital’s once-moribund housing market. The mean price of new condos in the Japanese capital and surrounding areas hit 62.6 million yen ($550,000) last year, topping the 61.2 million yen high watermark set in 1990.

While Japanese tenants, from a landlord perspective, are normally extremely docile and headache free, and while tenancies are generally long and stable as a rule - there is one issue that, while not unique only to Japan, is more common here due to the country's status as the world's fastest ageing society - as landlords in Japan, our tenants are often elderly - which means that the likelihood of them becoming severely ill or passing away during their tenancy is higher than in most other countries.

A recent tally by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications shows that internal migration into Tokyo topped outflow by 5,433, the lowest figure on record. In particular, people leaving the capital's central 23 wards outnumbered those moving in by more than some 15,000. This is surely a sign that the concentration of the population in Tokyo is beginning to reverse,

The fact that Japan, as opposed to many of its neighbours, has been far slower in re-opening its borders, which remain all but shut to those who have not been residing in the country prior to the outbreak, however, has put a damper on the country’s economic prospects – but, surprisingly, and for reasons which will be partly explained, or at least speculated on, herein – these lacklustre economic prospects have done little, if anything, to property prices in most industry segments.

Abandoned properties have taken the limelight recently for their affordability and countryside location. One couple from Alaska, fascinated by the beauty of traditional Japanese timber work and craftsmanship, had dreamt of using their home-building skills to restore an old, traditional kominka style (large stand-alone) home for a place to settle in for retirement. Ideally, they wanted to find an akiya or abandoned property for no more than about USD$20K, but weren’t sure if their plan was realistic. Given their background, their retirement dream is very much achievable.

For years, Japan has tried — without success — to prevent politics, business and its population from being overly concentrated in Tokyo. But it appears the coronavirus pandemic could be a game changer, with many seeing it as an opportunity to rethink their approaches to work and life and move out of the capital to rural areas. Among them is Kazuki Hanado, 27, who moved to the city of Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture in October 2020. Before the pandemic, Hanado, who was born in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward, worked at a luxury inn near the Imperial Palace. But in May 2020, a few months after Japan decided to postpone the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the inn closed down. The hiatus made her re-evaluate her life.