patrick.net

Can't you read Chinese characters (LOL)?

満室時年収/月収 2,550.918 万円 / 212.6万円

212.6万 is ¥2,126,000 a month, or $26,250.

8 units, $3250/mo each.

I am a fan of Japan. In fact, I can eat Japanese food every meal, every day and not be sick of it.

However, Japan feels like one of the most fragile economies in the world.

I need to visit more often and eat all the Fugu I want before all hell breaks loose.

Peter P says

However, Japan feels like one of the most fragile economy in the world.

I think the easiest and safest way to determine how fragile an economy is how dependent it is on foreign trade in general, and how big its trade deficit is.

Japan is doing OK still on the latter, even though it is running a $6B/month trade deficit now it has the global wealth position it has built up over the past several decades to mitigate that wealth loss (in fact it has a $12B/month net capital income inflow on its $3.2T capital position, actually double its $6B trade deficit).

Japan's general dependency as a trading state is surprisingly low, actually:

Japan's imports-to-GDP ratio was 13% in 2010.

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.IMP.GNFS.ZS

Denmark, Germany and Sweden are in the mid-40s, France & Norway ~30%, the US is around 16%:

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=dF5

So by any measure Japan is doing much better than the US.

Remember, it is they who own $1.1T of our debt, not the other way around.

http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Documents/mfh.txt

E-man says

Didn't they have over 20 years of deflation

Not in dollar terms, LOL

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/EXJPUS

This building came online in March 1986, when the yen was at 180 . . . while it was being built the yen was still at ~240 . . .

The yen may have strengthened by a factor of 3 since then but the Japanese pay their rents in yen not dollars . . .

Rents are about the same from when I was there back in the 1990s.

The 300 sqft studio I had in the very best area of Tokyo was ¥110,000 1995-2000, but that ranged from $700 to $1300 depending on the FX (now it is $1300 again).

Much of the Japanese economy is structured as if the yen was 240. Hell, it was 320 in the 1960s and 1970s.

China is going to experience this same domestic price weirdness as it moves from a weaker yuan to a strong yuan this century.

But China doesn't have Japan's demographics quite yet:

that is not a pretty picture if you're in real estate, LOL

Bellingham Bill says

I think the easiest and safest way to determine how fragile an economy is how dependent it is on foreign trade in general, and how big its trade deficit is.

I think a society is fragile if it relies on things staying the same.

Still, I feel very safe in Japan. Even the drivers are polite. Omakase is the best form of trust I exercise.

Meanwhile, in the good ole USA, food stamp usage has soared to 16 month highhs.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-12-09/foodstamps-soar-most-16-months-over-1-million-americans-enter-poverty-last-two-month

robertoaribas says

I've always been very interested in Japan, but from my online research, and about a year in thailand, several months in the phlippines, several months in china, I think I'm going to stick with southeast asia... In thailand or the philippines, i can live like a king on a $...thai culture is fascinating, the food is the best in the world, and the natural beauty of the country is incredible. driving isn't too bad, modern medicine is available and cheap. I kind of have thai/japan as similar in my mind in some ways, because manners and politeness are so important to both cultures, quietness in public, non pushiness...

Japan is a different country than Thailand (it's not in southeast asia anyway.) It is much more developed than Thailand and the key is: it is much more EXPENSIVE than Thailand. It is more expensive than what it is here (in States.) So, you won't live like a king in Japan (unless you live like a king in States.) They will be in big trouble down the road when they run out of young people (pretty soon it will happen.)

Mobi says

Inevitably, whenever a foreigner writes about Japan, it is about Tokyo. Well, Tokyo is equivalent to NY or LA, and both of those cities are also wildly expensive.

I have been to other cities in Japan and of course they are not as expensive as Tokyo (real estate wise) but still quite expensive. Food, grocery wise, not a whole lot of difference 1.5x to 2x of the prices here in States. Remember, Japan is a very urbanized and crowded country so people tend to concentrate in cities and there is not as much land. Of course, you can choose to live in countryside and it is affordable but I just don't see the point.

robertoaribas says

if I worked there. In the other countries I can easily live off of passive income the rest of my life.

You could in Japan, too.

National Health insurance (which gives you 30% copays and is capped at ~$2000 out of pocket per "incident" IIRC) is pretty cheap.

The hard part would be getting the visa I think. They have an investor visa program but that takes some serious cash deployment into their crappy economy.

Probably just better to visit for 3 months and come back every so often if you like it. 3 months in Shikoku in the fall some year, 3 months in Kyoto in the spring. Japan's weather is only good Mar - May and Oct-Dec anyway . . .

robertoaribas says

I suppose Japan would only make sense if I worked there. In the other countries I can easily live off of passive income the rest of my life.

Exactly that's what I mean. I would rather live in Thailand and visit other asian countries once in a while. Like you said, the ticket fare is very reasaonable.

A super quick look at rent in NYC, SF and PA show that $4 isn't an unreasonable amount to ask.

A full loan on that amount looks like it would be around $15-20K/month. Seems reasonable.

Considering the amount of time people spend commuting over there, it's obvious that space is a premium.

God dammit Roberto. I watched that second video you posted and was like yep this is what happens when you don't have stop lights. Then I saw the part where the horse gets crushed for crossing the street. Got super mad and turned it off.

Why can I watch humans get hurt, but when it happens to a horse I actually have an emotional reaction to it? I'm still upset about seeing that horse get smashed.