No data to suggest that rising apartment prices are “foreigners’ fault”: Overseas residents account for 3.5% of apartment purchases in Tokyo’s 23 wards

As far as the Tokyo Shimbun has investigated so far, there is no statistical data to support the idea that speculative purchases by foreigners are causing prices to rise

Only 8.5% of buyers were speculative buyers

In November 2025, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism published the results of its first survey of condominium transactions. However, current real estate registration information does not include a question about nationality, and the survey only looked at whether the property owner lives overseas. The survey results showed that of people who purchased new condominiums in Tokyo's 23 wards in the first half of 2025, the proportion of overseas residents was 3.5%. Even when limited to the six central wards (Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Bunkyo, and Shibuya), the figure was 7.5%.

The price hike is due to the weak yen, monetary easing measures, and reduced supply.

The Tokyo Shimbun's campaign report "Tokyo's Transformation" also independently investigated 222 apartments in 23 Tokyo apartment buildings based on property registry information. While there were cases of foreign buyers, the majority of purchases were made by Japanese companies and executives. Real estate professionals and experts cited factors such as the weak yen, government monetary easing, and a decrease in the supply of new properties as reasons for the price hikes, and were generally skeptical of the theory that foreign buyers are to blame.