With a weaker yen and prospects of rising land prices and rents major Japanese real estate firms are holding an international exhibition in Tokyo in an effort to attract more overseas investment.
Over the past couple of years private buyers from Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and China have been following the institutional and sovereign wealth funds in acquiring prime Tokyo properties.
The organizers believe the event is the first of its kind in Japan and comes on the back of growing overseas interest. As with London in 2012 around Tokyo significant construction projects are taking shape in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics driving even more interest.
The two-day exhibition, which opened yesterday, features participation by about 100 organizations, including leading real estate developers and local governments.
The Urban Research Institute Corporation says the value of acquisitions of Japanese real estate by foreign businesses hit a record high in the fiscal year that ended last March.
It says the value stood at roughly $9.88 billion a 2.8 fold gain from the previous fiscal year.
