Foreigners in Japan still face rental rejectionーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS

[Music] you can't live here that's basically the message a lot of non-japanese Nationals are getting here in Japan sadly many learned that finding landlords who rent to foreigners can be difficult a private housing survey found that about 40% of wouldbe tenants experienced discrimination or felt they were being treated unfairly this is despite the fact that a record number of people from overseas are living here in Japan in 2023 the figure hit 3.4 million today we hear from some of those who have faced rejection and see what's being done to address the issue this is a clip from a video that's been making the rounds on social media Joshua Thompson is British but he was born and raised in Japan and speaks Japanese like a local this video is a comical reenactment of his experience of being turned down for a rental apartment [Music] Thompson's video has racked up 2.9 million views so far many people commented that they had similar experiences one wrote that he was refused even though he's a permanent resident and works at a major Japanese corporation another said she has lived in Japan more than 20 years but was still turned away among the people commenting on the video was this man from Spain he came to Japan 6 years ago to teach at a public university in January last year when he applied to view an apartment in H prefecture this was the answer he got from the real estate company he was told the landlord does not rent to foreigners even if they have a Japanese guarantor well I feel disappointed I would say how much do you earn who do you work for so they didn't even ask those questions they knew nothing about me they just rejected me based on the nationality alone the central government has published a pamphlet warning real estate companies that refusing tenants May constitute unfair discrimination in the case of the Spanish man this was the response from the local legal Affairs Bureau so he gave up the idea of filing a complaint I was obviously disappointed but that of knowing the existence of a building that is just for Japanese citizens the whole building and then as well the stance that the government has that you need to follow through when NHK called to find out more the real estate company claimed it had been a mistake and it hadn't intended to reject the man's rental application but the manager also had this to say one reason behind this attitude is that landlords and property management companies are wary of foreigners in a recent industry survey more than half of building owners said they'd had problems with non-japanese tenants the biggest complaints were about ignoring the garbage rules and disturbing the neighbors there are plenty of of negative stories about renting to foreigners even landlords who haven't experienced problems firsthand May worry after hearing reports from others even so there are some landlords who see foreign tenants as a positive opportunity rather than a problem this man owns properties in shoka and two other prefectures he says that when some foreign tenants moved out from one of his apartments at the end of last year it was left far dirtier than he expected they must have been cooking with a huge amount of oil every day they never cleaned up afterwards it cost him over $4,000 to return the unit to its original condition meaning he lost money on the tency so he Now spells out the rules carefully to all tenants moving into his units and he gets them to agree to follow the Japanese way of doing things he also provides them with cleaning products and insecticide free of charge when they move in and demonstrates how to use them he does this because he recognizes that renting to non-japanese will help him keep all his units occupied if I can rent to forers without problems that will help help boost my occupancy levels that's why I need to take steps like that larger companies are also helping to tackle the accommodation issue this company in Tokyo operates a website which connects people with real estate companies that are happy to work with foreigners the name for this initiative is friendly [Music] door I provide support for non-japanese who are looking for rental housing gong ichun was born in Shanghai but has lived in Japan since the age of five she herself has experienced issues when looking for places to live on this day gong is visiting a company that has signed up to be listed on the friendly door website it sees this as a business opportunity and has also hired non-japanese staff this employee can explain in Chinese or English what new tenants need to know about the etiquette of renting in Japan I explain the important points so that our customers understand do you also explain about how things are done in Japan when a tenant signs a lease I explain all the essential things about General Customs like how to dispose of the garbage and not to wear shoes [Music] indoors so far around 4,400 real estate companies in cities around the country have signed up to the website gong's aim is to expand the network further I think this is a real win-win situation it offers business opportunities while also reducing the risks if real estate companies in Japan welcomed everyone including non-japanese then my service would become obsolete that's my ultimate goal the director of the Japan Property Management Association pointed out that Japan is encouraging people to come from abroad to help address the ongoing labor shortage and that makes housing a critical issue he also said landlords and real estate agents need to learn more about individual countries and their People Too Many consider foreigners as a single group at the same time what's needed is a system that supports non-japanese to integrate into their local communities the aim should be to help them live in Japan without concern

Channel: NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Views: 42,319

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Id: unyNX3eI1O4

Length: 8min 55sec (535 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 12 2024