Japan and Indonesia Sign Agreement to Simplify Customs Procedures

The share of people with overseas addresses purchasing newly built condominiums in Tokyo reached 3% in the first half of this year, according to a government survey that sheds light on growing concern that short-term transactions by foreign buyers may be contributing to rising property prices.

Condominium prices continue to surge across Japan, prompting renewed debate over whether the market will cool and how households should navigate the choice between buying and renting. A detailed analysis from housing loan comparison service MogeCheck highlights the factors driving prices upward, the limits of proposed regulations, and the shifting landscape of mortgage options.

Japan’s nationwide consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 3.0 percent in October compared with the same month a year earlier, according to data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, with the pace of inflation expanding for the second consecutive month as the index reached 112.1 and broad-based price revisions pushed up the cost of food items across the country, including a 53.4 percent jump in coffee beans and a 40.2 percent rise in rice that continued the upward momentum seen since the autumn.

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has announced that the country’s main crop rice harvest for the 2025 season is expected to reach 7.468 million tons, marking an increase of 676,000 tons from the previous year and representing growth of roughly 10 percent.

The Real Estate Companies Association of Japan has drafted a policy that would prohibit the resale of condominium units before they are handed over to buyers, an effort aimed at curbing speculative short-term flipping that has been cited as one factor behind the sharp rise in condominium prices.

Core machinery orders — a leading indicator of private-sector capital investment — rose in September, with the Cabinet Office reporting that orders excluding ships and electric utilities climbed 4.2 percent from the previous month to roughly 920 billion yen. It marked the first increase in three months.

Takaichi’s administration is moving closer to finalizing its economic package aimed at easing the strain of rising prices, with the government preparing a set of measures that include a gasoline tax cut, fresh investments across 17 priority fields and expanded subsidies for electricity and gas bills.

Japan’s traditional employment practices are once again under scrutiny as debate intensifies over so-called “do-nothing middle-aged workers,” with critics arguing that long-standing structural issues in hiring, promotion, and job assignment have allowed a segment of workers to lose motivation while remaining in secure positions.