Abstract
This chapter reviews the housing and housing finance markets in Japan and suggests directions for future policy reforms. The chapter argues that the potential benefits of market-oriented reforms for Japan’s housing finance system , private and public rental housing, and second-hand housing market are evident.
This chapter is adapted from Seko et al. (2011), John Wiley and Sons, Inc. and Seko and Sumita (2012), Elsevier.
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Notes
- 1.
See 2013 Housing and Land Survey of Japan (Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (2013)). The homeownership rate in Japan is almost equal to that of the United States and is higher than that of some European countries.
- 2.
See Seko and Sumita (2012) for further details on the Japanese housing and land market.
- 3.
See A Quick Look at Housing in Japan (2003).
- 4.
See Seko (1994) for details about the Japanese housing finance system.
- 5.
See Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2007).
- 6.
See, for example, Leung (2004) for the macroeconomic consequences of the fluctuations in housing prices.
- 7.
- 8.
Renters are protected by the Japanese Tenant Protection Law. Iwata (2002) argues that the small size of Japan’s rental housing is caused by the implicit rent control system that resulted from the law. In March 2000, this law was revised, and rental housing with a fixed rental term was introduced in order to increase the supply of good-quality rental housing. Seko and Sumita (2007) analyzes the Japanese housing tenure choice and welfare implications after the revision of the law. Seshimo (2009) also discusses the problems of strict tenant rights under the Japanese Tenant Protection Law.
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Seko, M. (2019). Housing and Housing Finance Markets. In: Housing Markets and Household Behavior in Japan. Advances in Japanese Business and Economics, vol 19. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3369-9_4
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