The Rise of the Condominium Lifestyle in Japanese Cities

Abstract

This chapter examines the changing roles of condominiums in the Japanese housing market using the case of Mito City, a middle-sized central city on the edge of the Tokyo metropolitan area. The growth of the condominium lifestyle is closely connected with the changing family–housing relationship in the Japanese housing market. In major metropolitan areas, the condominium lifestyle has expanded to the suburbs since the 1960s, influenced by the strategies of private railroad companies. From the 1980s to the early 1990s, fueled by the substantial increase in housing prices in the cities, condominiums in central areas were sold to be transformed into small offices, whereas those in the suburbs offered affordable housing options. This resulted in the out-flow of the population to the suburbs. Although the condominium lifestyle was largely accepted in major metropolitan areas, they remained a temporary form of residence before purchasing detached houses in middle- and small-sized cities. After the late 1990s, the supply of condominiums dramatically increased in Japanese central cities with various population sizes. In addition to the typical targets of condominiums such as women, single people, and older adult couples, nuclear families also moved into condominiums in the city center at the beginning of the twenty-first century. In middle- and small-sized cities, where most people have had a strong preference for land ownership and have therefore preferred a detached house, condominiums are considered helpful in dealing with changing family, welfare, and housing relationships.