Developer Tokyu Land Corporation plans to sell a stake in Tokyo office floors for over JPY 100 billion ($673 million). Despite concerns about increased supply, office rents in Tokyo are rising. Tokyu Fudosan, the parent company, will sell a 49 percent interest in 25 floors of Shibuya Sakura Stage to undisclosed investors.

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.

The Olympic Games could act as a “show window” for Tokyo’s real estate, whether spectators are allowed or not. The approaching Games, as well as the increasing pace of Japan’s Covid vaccination campaign, is helping to fuel expectations for the country’s real estate investment trusts.

Once thought of as impossible to sell, each of the properties is marked by a dark history. They were the sites of various unfortunate incidents, including the deaths of previous residents. But now, Marks’ Jobutsu Estate website, named after the Japanese word for "resting in peace," is showcasing these properties rather than giving them a pass.