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Why Japanese property managers are so strict on renting apartments

64 Comments
By Adam German

We’ve all thought about it and complained about it when searching for an apartment; why are Japanese property managers so strict before renting an apartment and why do they seem to be reluctant to rent to foreign people?

To address the first issue, why they are so strict, we have to look back to the end of World War II. Japan was in ruins and living space was in short demand. The remaining buildings that were livable were capitalized heavily by landlords by charging 礼金 (key money and if you can read kanji, basically means “thanks” money) to prospective tenants. The Japanese people at the time too thought it was garbage but since the choice was either pay or live on the street, there were no shortage of people willing to pay.

However, once in the apartment, the next thing tenants needed to do was find jobs to provide income. It’s tough to find a job in the midst of someplace that has been bombed to the stone ages so therefore many tenants found it difficult to pay their rent on time.

Landlords, seeing the opportunity to make another couple months of Key Money with a new tenant gave no patience to existing tenants late with their rent and thus evicted them immediately. This cycle was extremely profitable for the landlords but horrible for tenants.

As Japan rebuilt itself, the government realized that a thriving economy can’t be rebuilt without the common man having stable living arrangements. Hence the government stepped in to stop this exploitation by creating tenant laws that very much favor the occupants rather than the landlord.

This put tenants in a very strong position. Hypothetically, once a tenant signed a lease agreement and then decided to not pay rent, it now would take a landlord anywhere between 4 – 6 months to legally evict a non-paying tenant. Landlords now had to obtain government permission to serve a first warning to a non-paying tenant, wait a month, go back to the government to serve a second notice, wait another month, then go back to the government for a third notice, wait another month, then finally receive permission to formally evict the non paying tenant. During this whole process, the non paying tenant is living on the premises for free.

In response to these new laws, landlords and property managers had no choice but to do everything they could to make sure the person applying to rent their apartment is as risk free as possible. This is why landlords and property managers want to see income details, letters of employment, need a guarantor, etc… Once you’re in the apartment, then you’re in.

In the case of reluctant rental to foreign people, many times the cry “racism” is thrown about and it is debatable whether this is true or not. The reason it is still debatable is because we foreign people have one option open to us that Japanese citizens don’t have. If everything goes wrong for us here financially, given the closed nature of the Japanese financial and credit systems, we can simply leave the country without a word to anyone and the Japanese landlords can do nothing to our credit ratings like they can with Japanese citizens.

What I do believe is that when a foreign person has their apartment application rejected, the lack of their agent’s English language ability prevents clear communication as to why. Therefore the Japanese English speaking agent relies on what they know how to say which is “No Foreigners.”

If you can’t speak Japanese then simply walking in to the local real estate agent can elicit the same response as soon as you walk in the door, “No Foreigners.” Again, by and large what this means is the particular agent you are trying to speak to can’t understand English at all and since he is bound by laws to make sure you understand everything about the apartment you’re renting, he simply rejects service right then and there.

For example, if your apartment is a non renewable 1 year contract and your non-English speaking agent doesn’t make this point clear before you sign the lease, you theoretically can sue and win, thereby destroying his real estate license and killing his livelihood.

Whether you agree with it or not, this is the system here in Japan. Certainly there are things that need to change as times have changed but unfortunately that is beyond your power when looking to rent an apartment. Knowing the existing system and how it works can make your process smoother and then once you secure your living space, then you can set about getting on your soap box voicing your opinion…just make sure you have your keys in hand first though.

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64 Comments
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And when you take a Japanese friend to translate everything for you, guarantors and key money, an employment letter, and they STILL say no foreigners.....?

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Look WWII was a long time ago. Leaning on that excuse would be like me refusing to rent to people from the south because of the Civil War. It is 2010 and people need to stop masking xenophobia and racism with quaint tales of Japans rebuilding period. How many of those people are renting units anyway? Most of the land lords I have met are bubble generation or were too young to remember much about the 1940's.

The real problem is the same that effects every aspect of life in Japan. 1. No Civil Rights Laws: Japan just doesn't have the legal support that protects the rights of all people legally living here to be free of discrimination. Plain and simple.

Kibishi-culture. I honestly think people here don't feel comfortable unless everything is kibishi and taihen.

As for your apologistist point of view. No! Japan needs to grow up for her own good. Japan is now an international country that needs to learn to behave and have laws like one. If Japan wants our labor, which they will soon have no choice but to import more foreign labor to fill the gaps, they need to pass laws to make it easier for foreign labor to live and work here. That includes better protections for civil liberties and rights to fight back against overt descrimination.

I have lived here for ten years and had the good fortune to have great land lords who live in the 21st century. But despite reasonable Japanese and a job that pays a lot more than Joe salaryman I have also been the victim of all kinds of discrimination. This is shameful and we should stop providing apologies and excuses for Japan. They need us as much or more than we need Japan, so this country and its people must evolve to join the global community or find other solutions that don't involve being a part of the global community.

Too often we apologize for a country that needs to stop being so backwards, it is unbecoming the world's second most powerful economy.

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Never had a problem with real estates/landlords here. Maybe I'm just lucky....

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or you speak really good Japanese and it says no foreigners?

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A friend told me that his contract specifically forbad yakuza, prostitutes and foreigners from staying in his apartment. It seems there was some flexibility (case by case)in this rule as he was a foreigner.

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I've never had an estate agent say no to me on the grounds that I'm a foreigner. I think they say no to people because they work for Nova, don't make much money, actively say "key money is b/s" and speak no Japanese (so can't read the hefty paperwork required to rent a property.)

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Try renting in New York City, THEN bitch about Japan.

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i spoke japanese and went into a real estate agent who were very helpful and they phoned up several places and the minute it was mentioned I was a foreigner they said no. Luckily I got a great place lived there for 2 years and I got on well with neighbors and the landlord who was more than happy to rent out to foreigners after me.

Regards to the article, I have to agree with tkoind, trying to make poor excuses for Japans racism and the reasons given are really lame trying to bring it back to WWII etc. Call a spade a spade or racism, racism. Stop being apologists.

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Japanese landlords can do nothing to our credit ratings like they can with Japanese citizens.

I lived in an apartment building where every month the landlord would pound on my neighbor's door at ungodly hours like 4:00 and 5:00 demanding his rent. Left big notices on the door. One day, silence. They had moved out and when I asked about it he said he had no idea where they (family of 3) went and they hadn't paid rent in a year. And he was at first reluctant to rent to me because I could 'simply leave the country without a word to anyone.' We both laughed at the irony there.

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Looking at WWII?? The writer is an apologist. It's racism. That's it. It's not the money it's not the forms. They don't like you.

How long can the WWII excuses last though? Time indeed enough to move on huh? Maybe in another generation? It makes no sense. Hardly the landlord would have been over 12 during WWII so the apologist view is a few decades too late.

Curious why this isn't a daily political embarassment. Japan signs all kinds of UN accords but apparently they mean nothing, have no teeth, and if they were checked up upon would be found to be bogus

However as for the nice landlords who do rent, appreciate them! Go out of your way to have deposits and reference letters from employment and friends etc. Have the language skills. Get to know them and you're good. Answer the wariness before it costs you a nice place.

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I'm curious. If the renter has a guarantor wouldn't that suggest that the guarantor is responsible for the rent that is not paid? I see the fear of landlords that a foreign tenant can just pack up and fly out. What is the guarantor good for?

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Man, what bull! Don't apologize for their blatant racism. My 100% Japanese wife went to at least 10 real estate companies before one would rent to us. Then, even after being here for many years, learning a fair amount of the language and finally getting a chance to buy a house, and, even though I would be the one paying the mortgage, at the meetings and signings it was like I wasn't even in the room most of the time. I'm really sick of people apologizing for Japan. The overall racist nature of this country is appalling. Most of the people defending them would never accept it in a so-called third-world country.

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This is one big article justifying excuses for discrimination. And as posters are saying, WWII was decades ago, unless your landlord happens to be Governor Ishihara.

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Quite a few places in the world suffered serious housing shortages in the postwar period. Japan is the only one where I know that the client to this day is forced to "gift money."

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If you can’t speak Japanese then simply walking in to the local real estate agent can elicit the same response as soon as you walk in the door, “No Foreigners.”

if simply walking throught the door can elicit this response then it doesn't matter whether you speak Japanese or not. hmmmm? do the estate agent staff read minds nowadays or is this just a really badly written article?

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Just my two cents as a Frenchman, but renting in Paris is at least as hard for foreigners, and there's no "gajin houses" out there.

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I've been in Japan for 22 years and yes I have been discriminated and not allowed to rent, and yes it feels extremely bad. But this is their private property, it is their right to do whatever they want. Government doesn't come up to you and say that you have invite bunch of Indians and Ainu to your next birthday party. You only invite whoever you want. But private property laws should go both ways. Nobody is asking you to disclose your origin, so there, next time you are in real estate office, just tell them you are naturalized Japanese, the only think they can ask for is your drivers license, that doesn't have any origin stated on it.

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I was told no to rent space for my car, because they said I was a foreighner. Messed man

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nisejaijin

well I can't do "gift money" in Canada, because that would be illegal. First and Last deposit is it. Those who take advantage of immigrants go to court. When was the last landlord in a court of law?

Different countries have different standards, but when coming to Japan to find that the standards are in fact LOWER than your own, it's a wonder the landlords aren't sued everyday of the week for discrimination.

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I'd really like to see a sting operation all around the world in major cities, and see who can get rented to and who cannot. Japan FTW

Why are you a part of the UN again?

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I am very surprised to hear of this discrimination, especially in this economy where landlords are suffering from decreased rents and vacancy. I certainly never pay "reikin" or even renewal fee anymore and the reikin is being tested in the courts for being unfair and a racket. Unless the landlord can justify the reikin, why pay?

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looks like a number of people haven't read the piece properly. ww2 reference is explaining the key money system. language problem is given for foreigner trouble.

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Good to read a different perspective on the situation. I don't like the system but it's there because that's how it developed. The bribery system really. But with the laws making it so it's hard for the landlord to get his rent then I can understand their reluctance.

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I am very surprised to hear of this discrimination, especially in this economy where landlords are suffering from decreased rents and vacancy.

This is a good point. When I turned up in Japan about 20 years ago, despite a very high salary and a very stable lifestyle, it was still a real hassle to rent an apartment, get a credit card, etc.

Fast forward to 10 years ago and I am a senior manager at my old company, having done my time in domestic sales (like a rank and file Japanese employee), before running the company's overseas business. Although renting a property was no longer a problem, the main bank of my employer still narked at giving me a credit card (despite a very good salary).

Fast forward to the present and I am working for myself, still making a very good living. These days, however, I have major Japanese financial institutions scrxwing each other over to offer me housing loans, banking services, credit cards, stockbroking services, etc.

Indeed, the economy (finally) is changing attitudes in this country.

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All correct, except the key money actually goes the real estate agent that arranges everything. The landlord rarely gets any of it.

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A good load of BS this article is!

As many have pointed out WW2 is a long time ago and language and or the possibility that a non-Japanese renter could just pick up and go doe not explain why as others have posted here, the agents and owners still refuse to rent to married couple with one spouse that is not Japanese, have jobs and proper guarantor!

If this policy was directed only towards single foreigners or even fully foreign couple here on temporary work visas then perhaps it would have some merit BUT this is not the case this type of discrimination is also directed at permanent residents and Japanese/foreign couples even if they have all the document and guarantors that would normaly be requested.

These type of Japanese apologist article are like a defense lawyer trying to justify the criminal behavior of his client by claiming a bad childhood.

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Call it reverse racism or whatever but I agree with the landlords. I woulnd't rent out an apartment to foreigners, either. I know people who've sold off all the furnishings in their apartment, such as the air conditioner, even though those furnishings belonged to the landlord. I know of gaijin who don't give a damn about their neighbors by making all sorts of ruckus and then play the I-don't-speak-Japanese card when asked to quiet down.

Perhaps I'd look at it on a case-by-case basis but, for the most part, I'd definitely include the "no foreigners" note on the 間取り図 papers for the real estate office.

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Blahdeblah.

Those who refuse foreigners even when financially stable, are simply racist. Face it, like we all know Japan hates admitting to fault.

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I have no idea who the guy is who wrote this nonsense, nor how long he has been in Japan. Methinks he is still in the "everything in Japan is wonderful" stage, or the "I am a gaijin who is an expert on Japan" stage. Either way, he has it wrong. The payment of "reikin" is bribery, no matter what sort of fancy ideology you wrap it up in. Secondly, the fact that 80% of Japanese lanlords in the Tokyo area do not want to rent their properties to foreigners of whatever ilk, and the fact that more than 60% of Japanese dont want to have anything to do with foreigners, speaks for itself. Anyone who says "No foreigners" is a racist,and is guilty of racism, pure and simple, despite the baloney in this article.

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I was told no to rent space for my car, because they said I was a foreighner. Messed man

Foreign car? ;)

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Many comments' assertion that the article is apologist garbage is just wrong. The author was simply providing history and the facts of how renters see the situation. At no point does the author say that the situation is okay. He even says at the end that there are things that need to change with the times.

Don't confuse an explanation for an excuse.

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easy way around it...have your company pay the fees and put the rent in the companies name...

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Yeah, I remember an article about a racist landlord. Wouldn't rent rooms to people of African descent. The persons involved sued, and there was a large public outcry of support for the foriegners rights. The suing party won, and damages were paid. Oh, this was in Canada. No one country's system is perfect. However, I just couldn't foresee this happening in Japan... yet. And for all those people that say, "that it's their property, and they can do whatever they want" obviously are the benefactors of oppurtunism, since "doing whatever they want" usually means exploitation. If your fine with exploitation (and therefore, being exploited), then kudos to you all.

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For example, if your apartment is a non renewable 1 year contract and your non-English speaking agent doesn’t make this point clear before you sign the lease, you theoretically can sue and win, thereby destroying his real estate license and killing his livelihood.

Fact checking? You can't claim ignorance on a signed contract in any country. You will not win this in any court in the world. Otherwise every foreigner would be getting off his jail time by saying that is not what I said on my signed confession. You can't claim ignorance anywhere.

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One more point on owners rights: Renting out apartments, offices or homes is a business just like Hotels, banquet halls, Restaurants, etc.. no one rents to loose money therefore claiming "owners rights" to do as they please could then be extended to other businesses allowing them to refuse service as they please.

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Why stop at apartments? Ive been refused a credit card for years even though my husband is Japanese. Weve been asked to see our passports and marriage cert at a ryokan before. It can make life here very difficult when I can`t even get a credit card, and when I use my husbands I am often made to feel like a criminal. I must just have that kind of face!

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No, it's not extortion. It's the market, which is, i must add changing significantly. When I was searching, I looked at the apartment, liked it and said, I will rent, move in within one month if my conditions are met: My conditions were no key money, and landlord accepted it. Everyone is happy. It is called negotiations, and it is part of business. What you see listed as key money is landlords offer, all you have to do is counter that offer. Now, some stupid Japanese real estate agencies are not good at this, so what you do is you write down the name of apartment, location and room number and go to other agency that you think will negotiate and you try again. If that doesn't work, then try your luck with different apartment, but make sure real estate agency passes your offer to landlord.

Keep in mind, you are not gonna get hit with anything which is not on the contract, so don't scream extortion if is a condition for you to move in! It's free market and all you have to do is find a better deal.

Bottom line it is extremely tough for landlords right now, and one month of vacancy can be a big hit. Imagine paying mortgage for somewhere you don't live with no income from it, so they are trying to compensate with key money. Given an offer to drop it, but move in immediately will guarantee income, while refusing such offer will put landlord at risk of further vacancy. So it's a business decision and quite often management company will push the landlord to accept, especially if he is on guaranteed rent program.

So, folks, it's not about scam and extortion, it is up to your understanding of market and ability to conduct business deals.

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kirakira25, By law nobody but a few departments of the government can ask you for your passport. By another law, a ryokan or any hotel does not have legal the right to refuse you, provided that you can pay for it. Next time somebody gives you this kind of crap, remind of the law and tell them that losing a law suit may be very expensive. You have to be very firm and determined with these aholes, but never lose your temper because its an automatic loss

About credit cards. it's a mixed bag. I got perm residence, maybe that helps, so I got a car loan very easily. Before i was pr, i got credit cards from citi, DC and JCB, while denied from JACCS and some other crap company, so just go to another vendor and try your luck again.

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i was looking for an apartment 6 months ago, i first tried century 21, I speak Japanese pretty well enough to discuss renting an apartment and ,if some of the kanji are read aloud, the terms of a contract. I went in with my Japanese girlfriend and another English guy who would be living with me, as soon as we asked about foreigners the member of staff said it was obviously difficult and obviously everywhere will be too expensive for us( never mind our combined monthly income of well over 700000 yen) I have been here 3 yrs and had just obtained a fresh 3yr visa. I had lived in my previous apartment for 2 yrs without problems and even knowing all this she made it sound like we were registered child offenders. We gave up there and went to a company called life create. they were very friendly and helpful and tried hard to search for a place for us, but of all their registered landlords, only 4 of them would allow foreigners, we saw one place, liked it, started the lengthy security check with the president of my company as a guarantor and also my gf's father only to be turned down 3 days before moving in for reasons they couldnt tell us (we found out later the landlord cancelled himself through cold feet) we then went for the only hospitable place left and were accepted quite quickly although we are on the 4th floor, no elevator air con or furnishings and surrounded by barking dogs, we like it here now, but the whole experience made me feel very unwanted here and as a white male, my first(albeit well mannered and minor) experience of racism. The realtor seemed ashamed about the whole thing and my gf was very embarrassed and quite shocked herself by her own country. its sad and disappointing but, i like this country regardless and it will not deter me from living here.

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UR (urban renewal) seems to be the only place to go these days they handle mostly government housing and have no key money places they are not suppose to refuse anyone and if they do you can report them to the ward office especially now seeing they are in a bit of hot water and are fighting to keep their government contract!

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the sherrif: So I will repeat this statement again....does every foreigner have to pay for what a few bad apples did? In your view we are all bad and will do wrong by design? As stated by many you are damned as soon as it is known that you are NOT Japanese. I don't know about you but if the potential renter passes financial scrutiny I wouldn't care where he came from. Money is money. Saw a house sit empty for several years because of this nonsense. Funny thing was that most Japanese in this area could not afford it.

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MoBass4u; I will further your comment with this: The_sherrif; Why do they refuse couples that have one spouse who is Japanese just because the other is a foreigner? (particularly if the Japanese spouse is a woman)

The lease is almost always put in the Japanese spouse's mane and the guarantor a Japanese family member!

No your analogy doesn't hold water, it's racism (and sexism) pure and simple!

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I agree- money talks, especially in a current financial situation japanese are ready to make compromises and even to negotiate business! First time I went to japan and rented apartment, I could hardly speak japanese. So I just said – “ do you see money? Do you want money? Take it or leave it”, the deal was done within 10 minutes.

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limboinjapan: Amen! I guess the thought is that she has "adopted" the gaijin ways and will screw things up. It is unbelieveable how much money is passed up because of where you come from. Those who do rent to us are laughing all the way to the bank in more ways than one. Also, funny how the rent goes up quite a few percentage points when they find out you are not Japanese.

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In Japan racism is still well and alive. The govenment should send a decoy renters to these places and gather evidence for discrimation and fine these landlords for refusing to rent to qualified foreigners. This will send a strong message to the landlords to change their ways. The govenment proposal for revised tenant-landlord law is very similar to U.S. Actually, it's an advantage for tenant to have changes in the law more favorable to tenants rights over the landlord. True, if tenent contests, it might take longer 4 to 6 months to evict tenants. However, if tenant doesn't pay, your credit history report will be affected, and if you need to rent in another place or borrow money from the bank, you might be turned down. This works both ways.

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the_sheriff Call it reverse racism or whatever but I agree with the landlords. I woulnd't rent out an apartment to foreigners, either.

Racism is racism, really. I lived in a building full of Japanese college students once, and the noise level wasn't much better than a place full of foreigners.

If everything goes wrong for us here financially, given the closed nature of the Japanese financial and credit systems, we can simply leave the country without a word to anyone and the Japanese landlords can do nothing to our credit ratings like they can with Japanese citizens.

Yes, unfortunately I've heard stories of that many times. What's worse is sometimes they'll trash the apartment and then leave.

A few years ago I was looking for an apartment. I had to go to five different real estate agencies before finding a place. My Japanese friends were shocked, and even the agents were too when some land lords flat-out said "no foreigners" - some of them waiting until the last minute. Whether you can read the paperwork or not, some land lords just do not want you. Sad, but true.

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The758: "Yes, unfortunately I've heard stories of that many times. What's worse is sometimes they'll trash the apartment and then leave."

Strange I have "heard stories" but in 19 years here and watching many foreigner come and go, I have never seen even one case, actually what I have seen are many foreigners who leave their apartments in perfect condition and still don't get their deposit back because the landlords and agents know they are leaving the country and cannot fight them about it.

I think this apartment trashing is another urban legend just like the foreigner crimes, on a percentage ratio lower then that of the Japanese population but always used as a reason to be wary of us.

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Otherwise every foreigner would be getting off his jail time by saying that is not what I said on my signed confession. You can't claim ignorance anywhere.

Signed confessions include a native-language translation. Red herring.

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Nessie: You would think so, but not Japan.

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sure everyone has these stories,but the banks are the same. my j wife and I were approved for loan and signed a land purchase contract on basis of this. after this yamagata bank then said they wouldnt loan to foreigners and said the joint loan had to be only in my wifes name.how can this be described as anything other than racism? anyway,they eventually accepted the joint loan after much harassment from us ,but itwe dont have an insurance company underwriting our loan to the bank as they refused to do it if a foreigner is involved. ceo of yamagata bank is also head of yamagatas japan/eu friendship society.when i mentioned this at the meeting in front of 100 people he started laughing.what a joke.

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I managed to get a 39 mill Yen loan by myself with MUFG.

This was a 100% loan too(due to PR, non-PR is 80% only), also I didn't have a guarantor so the bank worked a deal. Granted most of the paper and leg-work was handled by the agent I bought the Apartment through. We bought from plan.

My J-wife never was asked to co-join, etc. Maybe because of my PR-status, good work-history in japan, MUFG being a client of mine(company), etc.

My agent said my application was one of the smoothest and easiest(only foreig appplicant in the building).

And I wasn't one of the high-earning expats either.

Just depends on how good a contact and partner you get.

Stories & experiences go both ways.

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Gogogo, citation?

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My CC was also smooth(got turned down twice as didn't fulfill basic requirements).

Bad me for not checking up on those but once I cleared those smooth as anything.

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One thing I found out is that many landlords, etc dropped the "No Foreigner" talk once I showed them my "Alien Registration Card" that shows my PR status.

I guess something about being committed to staying in Japan(son in local school also helps).

Granted all about perception but I don't think that changes worldwide.

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Again, this convo is missing the point on Reikin. The real estate company gets it, not the landlord. That means the RE company has incentive to make you pay it and will do what they can to make sure you pay it. Try being a landlord and not charging it. Who do you think the RE shop pushes potential tenants towards?

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Junnama, it's like trying to have a conversation at the NYSE. Most posters here are trying to shout by typing. I got your point. Kudos to you. :)

I just have a nice face. I get everything I want.

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It was interesting to read about where "key money" came from. But now that I know the reasoning behind its source, I can't figure out why citizens still allow it to exist. If everybody refused to pay key money, the practice would die out, or the landlords would be faced with empty buildings. Those who use brokers would be paying brokerage fees already, so why would they put up with "key money" as well?

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@Kira - that's strange, I got a credit card from MUFJ just a few months back with no problem really. Even though I work p-t they classified me as 'shufu' and made me put down my husband's income - but I didn't have to include his name, so I dunno. Haven't been refused at a ryokan yet - have had some funny looks when I show up after booking in my married name (which is a Japanese surname). They they proceed to question me on HOW I got the name - sigh-. Isn't key money along the same lines as the 'line money' you have to pay for a landline? The reasoning being that they needed to charge extra money (again after WWII) to rebuild the telephone lines, and yet they STILL charge this fee...I was also confused as to why noone complains. Shoganai ne?

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key money still exists because the realtors charge one months rent as a fee - for renewal as well... This when you have probably done all the work for them!

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Watch out for the crap they will pull when you try to BUY a house. Interesting game with the inkanshoumeishou. Seems you have to have your name in Katakana to buy a home but they will not allow you to put your name in katakana. Only romanji. Thus, no sale! Got around this with the help of an old student (public official) who had become a manager, and she put my katakana name underneath my romanji name. No rule against that! So everything went OK. And to think I am a model immigrant. white, blue eyes, technical english, the whole shambang and they still play games. I feel sorry for the ones with darker skin tones!

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Anyway you can search a 0/0 rent so you don.t need to pay any reikin or something like that. I pay 93000 yen for a new apartment in a mansion 1K, 24m2, in Nakanofujimichou area (10 minutes in train from shinjuku). I can speak not perfect japanese, i only have the 2kyuu (actually N2) but it.s better than if you only can speak english or another foreign language. But for example my 2 years contract will be finish in august and it.s supposed i must pay another rent fee.. Anyway fudousanyasan (rent office people) lie so much, so you must to be careful if you are thinking about to move to another place...etc. There are good offices but there are another offices that...no comment. And yeah i receive many answers as "no foreigners" until i found my house. but the first time i moved to my first house, they helped me with all the electric, gas staff activation...becasue i.m not good at understanding japanese by phone, i appreciated so much

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Debitoo.

Ouch, 93.000 for 1K is rather steep, most 0/0 places are.

I got a 2DK(4.5 & 6 Tatami rooms, 8 tatami kitchen, bath and Toilet) for 62.000 bit further out on the Chuo-line.

You can get a 1k with Loft around Kichijoji for about half that.

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TheRat, why wouldn't they let you register your inkan in katakana? When I bought my home I was careful to do the entire operation using my katakana name (surname first, Japanese style) on everything from bank papers to tax records.

Could the problem be that your alien card has only romaji on it, and you used that to register the inkan? Don't do that; make sure you use ID with katakana to register the inkan. If your alien card doesn't have katakana, get it put on there. And if they balk at using the spelling you prefer (insisting on including meaningless middle names, for example), get "surname + given name" in katakana as your registered alias. Shouldn't be hard to do.

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Thanks for the info. Was just wandering what your sources were for the historical origins of the 礼金 and also for the specific laws that the government implemented in order to prolong the eviction process. Thanks again :D

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