Crisis Management for a Conflict with North Korea

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房價是年收入10倍 日本人自購住宅夢破碎

House Prices Are Ten Times Annual Income, Japanese Homeownership Dreams Shattered

Liberty Times Net | Local Language | News | Dec. 2, 2025 | UndeterminedReal Estate

The dream of homeownership in Japanese city centers is increasingly out of reach due to soaring house prices, a rise in single-person households, and stagnant real wages. The traditional model of lifetime employment, marriage, and paying off mortgages before retirement has collapsed. Japan's long-standing owner-occupier policies, which once encouraged middle-class home buying after World War II, are now being undermined by these factors.

Chiyoda Ward's mayor, Higuchi Takaaki, warned that if current trends continue, the ward could become unaffordable for ordinary residents. Rising house prices and rents have prompted Chiyoda Ward to ask real estate associations to introduce measures to control property resale and curb speculation. Some developers have begun limiting resale within set periods, but ongoing construction cost increases and abundant overseas capital flowing into Japan’s real estate sector continue to fuel price rises.

Recent data show significant price increases: from January to June 2025, the average price of new homes in Tokyo’s 23 wards rose 20% from the previous year, reaching approximately 130.64 million yen. The income multiplier—the ratio of average home price to average annual income—exceeded 10 for the first time nationwide in 2023, with Tokyo's ratio at around 18. Detached house prices in Tokyo have also surged, with averages surpassing 55 million yen, an increase of over 10 million yen compared to five years ago.

Historically, the standard for affordable housing in Japan was set at about five times the average annual income, as outlined in the 1992 government "Five-Year Plan for a Nation of Comfortable Living." The current situation represents a stark departure from that benchmark, highlighting growing housing affordability challenges in Japan.

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