One would think that with Covid-19 and between people keen on running away from major urban centres to get away from crowds, and Japan’s aging demographics, the residential property market would take a hit. No so! In fact, just the opposite. Institutional investors have, in fact, been pouring funds into portfolios.

Foreign investment in Japan’s apartments more than doubled to US$5.9 billion in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, from US$2.7 billion a year earlier, according to Real Capital Analytics, which tracks deals worth at least US$10 million. So far this year, the segment has attracted US$704 million in foreign capital with another US$161 million still pending.

Japan, known for its rigid work culture, is entertaining changes to the standard workweek few would have predicted even several years ago. The country’s annual economic policy guidelines, released this month, unveiled plans to push employers to adopt four-day workweeks, marking official acceptance of a once-fringe approach that has gained increasing purchase internationally amid workplace changes wrought by the coronavirus pandemic.

Assuming you’ve established some key relationships with local realtors in your areas of choice, you will sooner or later come across a potential deal which will suit your criteria. The process, from here on, is quite similar to what you’d expect in any country, but with a few important differences...

First, no other market in Asia has the liquidity and stability Japan offers. Not only does the country typically account for the largest share of annual transaction volumes in the region, it has long been perceived as a safe haven, underpinned by political stability, a relatively high level of market transparency and a large pool of core properties with creditworthy tenants...

As featured in Asian Property Review - New robust demand for large multi-tenant logistics facilities in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, is breaking all existing records. The world has evolved. Consumers will never go back to the same office, industrial and shopping environments that were taken for granted prior to the pandemic. Online shopping has moved from ‘convenience’ to ‘necessity.’

As of this year, Japan’s ecommerce market is set to be worth $150.1 billion (£105.7 billion), with a compound annual growth rate of 6.2 per cent, according to a 2020 report by JP Morgan. Meanwhile, overall Japanese retail sales rose at the fastest pace – by 5.2 per cent – in five months in March this year as consumer demand recovered from the huge hit it took from the pandemic.

The first step of your market research, and the most important building block of your future investment portfolio in the land of the rising sun, begins with what the Japanese value above all else – relationship building...