2024-02-14
No Matter How Often We Sound the Alarm, Japan’s Leaders Will Probably Not See This “Reality.”
December 14, 2021
The following is from Ryusho Kadota’s regular column, published at the beginning of the monthly magazine WiLL released on November 26, under the title “From the Scene: China’s ‘Territorial Encroachment’ Accelerates Amid COVID-19.”
It is no exaggeration whatsoever to say that the five regular columns at the beginning of the magazine, starting with the column by the esteemed Nobuyuki Kaji, alone surpass the truth one obtains by paying the Asahi Shimbun a monthly subscription fee of 5,000 yen.
This is essential reading not only for the Japanese people but for people throughout the world.
Emphasis in the text is mine.
Something unusual is happening in Tokyo’s real estate market.
The Chinese buying spree in real estate that had been anticipated during the pandemic is reportedly “becoming a reality.”
Japan’s economy, damaged by the historically foolish policies of “restricting people’s movements and neglecting early treatment,” first saw the collapse of the restaurant industry, with establishments everywhere being put up for sale, while numerous properties, including condominiums and detached houses, are likewise being “released” onto the market.
According to a Tokyo real estate agent:
“Perhaps partly because of the collapse of China’s property giant Evergrande Group, property acquisitions by Chinese buyers are increasing at an accelerating pace.
Many Japanese property owners say, ‘I do not want to sell to Chinese buyers because they will take over,’ but in many cases an agent first buys the property and then sells it to Chinese buyers, rather than the owner selling to them directly.”
However, once properties are sold to Chinese buyers, problems with other residents also increase, as is so often the case.
The agent continues:
“We rushed over after receiving a report that a condominium’s drainage pipe was blocked, only to discover that the Chinese resident had been throwing plastic spoons, plastic bags, food scraps, and other waste down the kitchen drain, causing the blockage.
It defies common sense.
There have long been countless stories about improper rubbish disposal causing problems for neighbors, but recently there have also been cases involving the way Chinese residents dispose of cooking oil.”
What does that mean?
“Chinese residents pour used cooking oil straight down the kitchen drain.
Used oil should instead be absorbed into newspaper or something similar and disposed of separately as ‘burnable rubbish.’
Otherwise, the oil clogs the pipes.
But Chinese residents do not do that.
This caused a dispute, and the chair of the condominium owners’ association issued a warning, but the Chinese resident reportedly showed no remorse and retorted, ‘The management regulations do not say that pouring oil down the drain is prohibited.’
The owner laments that an increase in Chinese residents makes things difficult because every detail has to be carefully explained.
So, frankly, we too would prefer to deal with Japanese customers whenever possible.”
In the industry, it has become common knowledge that “once Chinese buyers see a property, they buy it immediately.”
The tendency for Japanese real estate to become a target for speculation has also shown no sign of abating.
“I was once introduced to a Chinese buyer and met him at a hotel for a business discussion.
All he kept asking was what benefits there were for him and how much profit I could make him.
He was thinking only about ‘how much money he could make’ from buying and selling real estate.
When I told him, ‘Houses and condominiums are bought to live in for a long time, not to make money,’ he looked disgruntled.” (The same agent)
Central Tokyo districts, including Shinjuku, are reportedly particularly popular among wealthy Chinese buyers.
According to Shenju Miaosuan, a website for buying and selling Japanese properties aimed at Chinese customers, Tokyo ranks first in popularity, followed by Osaka and Yokohama; within Tokyo, Shinjuku Ward ranks first, followed by Minato Ward and Itabashi Ward.
Japanese real estate is inexpensive, and rumors are reportedly circulating in China that “the price of a single apartment in Shanghai can buy an entire building in Tokyo.”
Indeed, many expensive properties are reportedly purchased “on the spot, in cash,” after nothing more than an online viewing.
Japanese buyers can hardly be expected to compete.
This trend is not confined to Tokyo.
The October 26 edition of the Sankei Shimbun reported, citing the Hotel and Ryokan Management Research Institute, that Chinese buyers were extending their acquisitions beyond real estate to regional hotels and traditional inns struggling financially because of the pandemic.
“Around last summer, we received approximately 100 inquiries a month, but the number has continued to rise, reaching 350 this July, 400 in August, and 450 in September.
Sales contracts are increasing rapidly, with around ten transactions already completed this year.”
The same article points out that long-established inns and historic hotels are attracting interest in anticipation of Chinese tourists returning after the pandemic, with buyers also considering relocating to Japan themselves in the future.
Chinese acquisitions of forests and water resources have long been a matter of concern.
So have the property acquisitions feared in a Japanese economy battered by the pandemic.
These developments have already become a reality.
Japan simply stands by, taking no countermeasures.
The Kishida administration does the bidding of the Ministry of Finance, which continues to obstruct the “large-scale fiscal spending” that is the key to economic recovery.
If this administration should remain in power for a prolonged period, Japan’s land will fall into Chinese hands.
No matter how often we sound the alarm, Japan’s leaders will probably not see this “reality.”
That is why we await the emergence of an administration capable of confronting China and implementing large-scale fiscal spending and economic security policies to restore the economy.
＊I see.
So that was the background to so many Chinese people buying tickets to and attending the Kishida faction’s political fundraising parties, I realized.