Apartment hunting do’s and don’ts in Japan

Do: Speak Japanese, read Japanese, have a Japanese spouse, and be Japanese - or at least, look Japanese.

Don't: be non-Japanese

The discrimination in housing in Japan needs to be stopped. There should be strict laws that prevent landlords from discrminating against non-Japanese, and real estate agents should refuse to work with racist landlords or else be fined. That's the only way to ensure housing discrimination is stopped.

I have always had positive experiences going through Able.

What is deemed socially unacceptable and unlawful in advanced nations is still prevalent in Japan in the 21st century.

By allowing racism, the Japanese state shows its complete lack of awareness, fairness and inability to accept international norms.

It might help if the estate agent doesn’t even mention to the landlord that the person in a foreigner. They set it up, so as you get racially profiled.

telephone call from estate agent:

Yes mr landlord we have a foreigner whose interested.

Telephone reply by landlord:

oh I’m sorry. No foreigners.

There should be no need to mention anyone is a foreigner.

I once made a reservation at a real estate and when I arrived, no one talked to me. When I said I had an appointment, they tried (very sarcastically) looking over some papers and told me they didn't have anything available.

Another time they told me in face they don't deal with foreigners.

And a few other times, after the real estate agent had already shown me the apartment, they call the landlord, everything seems fine on the phone but they (agent) then proceeded to mention that I am foreigner but that sure I could speak Japanese and had a stable job and... "Hai, hai, so desu ka." Hang up the phone and told me the apartment is not available. That happened in quite a few occasions.

I told an agent I was interested in a place in a huge swath of western Tokyo, with a rough population of around a million people and thousands of vacant apartments. The agent said he and his assistant spent an entire day on the phone.

The number of units available to us -- 2. The situation is worse than it used to be.

I would never recommend Japan to a young person from a Western country with an iota of ambition or even the vaguest notion of being able to fit in.

You might also face housing discrimination (utterly legal in Japan)

Surprise, surprise that Japan allows racial profiling and discrimination. It's a wonder the empty properties get filled at all what with their racist, xenophobic, discriminatory ways. And it'll probably continue in the foreseeable future since this is a "foreigner issue" so the Japanese government really won't bother to give it a second look.

The current situation in Japan is not surprising given the government's decision to prioritize tourism as a source of income rather than focusing on developing a stronger economy. This decision has resulted in a significant influx of foreign tourists to the country in a short period of time, which has impacted the daily lives of average Japanese citizens.

Unfortunately, many tourists do not make an effort to learn and integrate into Japanese society, unlike foreign residents who typically learn the local customs and rules. Tourists are only in Japan for a short period of time, and as a result, they can come across as a nuisance to locals. This behavior has led to a reluctance towards foreigners in Japanese society, which is evident in the rental market.

However, this issue is just a symptom of a much larger problem. The government's decision to focus on tourism instead of developing the real economy through industrial innovation has proven to be a lazy and short-sighted strategy. They have adopted the same strategy of poor countries that have low levels of education, such as some in Southeast Asia, and can only rely on the tourism market. This approach is slowly but surely destroying the social fabric of Japan by allowing a sudden influx of foreigners.

The economic benefits of tourism are also limited. Each tourist only spends an average of USD 1,500 during their visit, which does not generate significant tax income after accounting for the costs of enabling tourism, such as investments in airports, transportation, hotels, and signage.

In summary, the deterioration in the rental market for foreigners is the result of the government's misguided focus on tourism.

There are many problems for foreigners renting property but there are ways to get through the BS too. Who wants a racist landlord?

Never sell your soul to try and impress some slumlord anywhere in the world. If they don't want your money walk!

Not just in renting, but also buying. Unless you buy new, most sellers refuse to sell to untraditional buyers.

When I was buying houses, I was competing against a family. The house was selling for 90M and I offered 120M but the owner still choose to sell to the Japanese family for the list price because “they needed it more”.

Renting is horrible in Japan. You either have to pay 500,000+ a month for the most elite places, or rent a place that absolutely no Japanese wants. You can offer 2 year rent worth of deposits with a 20% increase in monthly rent and almost none of the nicer places would be willing to rent to you.

Renting is horrible in Japan. You either have to pay 500,000+ a month for the most elite places, or rent a place that absolutely no Japanese wants. You can offer 2 year rent worth of deposits with a 20% increase in monthly rent and almost none of the nicer places would be willing to rent to you.

That is not true for all locations.

@daikaka In other words money isn't everything or wasn't a problem for that owner.

Not just in renting, but also buying. Unless you buy new, most sellers refuse to sell to untraditional buyers.

When I was buying houses, I was competing against a family. The house was selling for 90M and I offered 120M but the owner still choose to sell to the Japanese family for the list price because “they needed it more”.

Renting is horrible in Japan. You either have to pay 500,000+ a month for the most elite places, or rent a place that absolutely no Japanese wants. You can offer 2 year rent worth of deposits with a 20% increase in monthly rent and almost none of the nicer places would be willing to rent to you.

Also keep in mind that there are slum lords here in Japan - at least in Tokyo. They count on the fact that foreigners won't avail themselves of the Japanese legal system. Once such entity is Chuo-Nittori. We paid a ridiculous amount of money for rent and they routinely 'declined' to fix safety issues. 5 months after a flood that put water in our ceilings and under our floor, they finally agreed to a mold test. They delayed delivering the results and came in to the home and told me that 3X the mold level in the air was 'Not A Problem'. So, while as a landlord myself, I do advise courtesy and respect in maintaining whatever property you decide to rent, it shouldn't just be 'foreigners' that have a bad name in the rental market. And, KEN Corp only advocates for the owner. In circumstances of an issue, they will not take care of you.