
A Sprawl of Abandoned Homes in Tokyo Suburbs - joubert
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/world/a-sprawl-of-abandoned-homes-in-tokyo-suburbs.html
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sdrothrock
There are actually programs out in the countryside to give people subsidies
and stipends to move out there -- in some cases, they'll even rent out large
houses/apartments for a pittance as well as subsidizing utilities.

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ZoeZoeBee
That's cool but has nothing to do with the article, which is about abandoned
properties as a whole, resulting from the fact that Japan's population is
rapidly shrinking....

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sdrothrock
It shows that:

1\. Different municipalities are addressing the countryside population decline
in different ways.

2\. Different municipalities are addressing the abandoned property problem in
different ways.

It seems directly relevant to me.

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mistermann
I wonder how open Japan might become to accepting foreigner immigration in the
future, especially westerners (Japan is pretty famously racist, I think
westerners would tend to be one of their least distasteful sources of
immigration). Hopefully, because the prospect of spending my retirement years
there is highly enticing. I land and housing is as cheap as the article
implies, it seems financially feasible.

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robzyb
> Japan is pretty famously racist

I think that a certain degree of delicacy when you make statements like that.

I know what you're trying to say, and I think its true, but I think one has to
be careful with the word "racist" and how the audience interprets it.

In my opinion, and as a generalization, "racism" in Japan is less sinister
than "racism" in the other parts of the world. Especially the US.

(Disclaimer: I am a foreigner living in Japan, but not for very long yet.)

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deciplex
Yeah, there won't be any Japanese businessmen burning crosses on your lawn or
whatever. Assholes like Shintaro Ishihara are about as bad as it gets (in
"polite" company anyway), and you could probably have a 15-minute chat with
him, as a Westerner, without realizing he's a racist old shit (not to mention
sexist as well).

On the flip side though, if you're planning on staying long-term you should
get used to whatever racism does exist, even if benign, as there is no
escaping it and it is pervasive. If you can't do that then it's probably best
to start making plans to leave. Japanese culture is not headed in any sort of
direction where it's going to change, and the population is so overwhelmingly
ethnically Japanese that enclaves are pretty much a non-starter as well.
Unlike (so I've heard) the US, no matter how long you live here, no matter how
well you speak the language, you will not ever truly belong regardless of
where you go, who you associate with, community you join, et cetera.

Oh, and the job market for software engineering here is rubbish ;-)

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ramchip
In what ways do you feel you will never really belong?

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ZoeZoeBee
Japan's population is aging quickly, as far as abandonded property goes this
is only the tip of the iceburg. In the next 20 years 25% of the buildings are
foretasted to be empty, and in fifty years they'll have lost a third of their
population.

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batiudrami
Both those stats are in the article.

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ZoeZoeBee
I'm glad you read it

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smegel
But isn't rent in Tokyo still disgustingly high? Something doesn't add up.

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ericdykstra
It's comparable to any world-class city, and significantly cheaper than, say,
San Francisco or London (especially if you consider the age/condition of
apartments). The population of the Tokyo area is still growing, so I'm
guessing people are just moving more towards the city's center.

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deciplex
> especially if you consider the age/condition of apartments

But apartment buildings in Tokyo are _terrible_. Fifteen years is considered
"old" and that's not due to high standards - it's because after fifteen years
the building is falling apart. I also suspect that if you compare rent per
square meter, you're right you'll still have higher prices than London at
least and probably SF as well, but _significantly_ cheaper might be a stretch.
$2500/month for 500 sq ft is expensive anywhere.

(And if the rent doesn't get you, parking will, though it's very easy to live
without a car in Tokyo.)

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rheide
You're right about the parking bit but I have a hard time believing you about
the rent or the building quality. I lived in Kanagawa for 5 years in a very
old (for Japanese standards) apartment building, and it was rock solid. Don't
forget that these buildings are designed to withstand earthquakes, whereas
London buildings are just slowly rotting away. Regarding rent:
[http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-
living/compare_cities.jsp?coun...](http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-
living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&city1=London&country2=Japan&city2=Tokyo)

Nowadays I'm living in London and have seen housing for way higher prices and
way, way worse condition than the apartments I've seen in Tokyo. London build
quality is utterly terrible. Japanese build quality is quality.

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fenomas
There are basically two approaches to multiresidence buildings in Japan. There
are "mansions": large, modern and built to last, normally all concrete and
having a single common entrance, and then there are "apaato": usually 2-3
stories, separate entrances, typically wooden, and ramshackle after 10-15
years. Both styles are common; sounds to me like you guys are comparing
opposite ends of the spectrum.

