Why Tokyo is the land of rising home construction but not prices

The city had more housing starts in 2014 than the whole of England. Can Japan’s capital offer lessons to other world cities?

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All of this law flows from the national government, and freedom to demolish and rebuild means landowners can quickly take advantage. “The city planning law and the building law are set nationally — even small details are written in national law,” says Okata. “Local government has almost no power over development.”

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