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TOPICS Japan’s Land Prices Show Signs of a Rebound – Foreign Capital Flowing Rapidly Into Japan – T long last, land prices in Japan have inflow of “Japan buying” capital from for- pose of their bad assets, which has led them A begun to show signs of rising after a eign investment funds and financial institu- to ask foreign firms to rehabilitate debt-rid- downward spiral that has lasted for more tions is another factor behind the trend. den borrowers. than a decade. In Tokyo, the average price “Land prices in Tokyo, one of the world’s In 1989, Mitsubishi Estate bought of land fronting major streets rose for the largest financial centers, now look relatively Rockefeller Center in New York. At that first time in 13 years, increasing 0.4% as of cheap compared to New York and London time, Japanese money dominated real estate Jan. 1, 2005, from a year earlier, according after a decade-long downward spiral caused markets in the world. In stark contrast, for- to the National Tax Agency. The average by the collapse of the bubble economy,” eign funds are now actively buying land- land price nationwide fell 3.4%, extending says a US financial institution. Based on mark buildings in central Tokyo one after its falling streak for the 13th consecutive year such a view, a total of ¥3 trillion to ¥4 tril- another. but the margin of decline was the smallest lion worth of foreign money has been The popularity of real estate investment since 1993. Of the 47 prefectures, more invested in Japan over the last few years, trusts (REITs) has begun to show signs of than 60% saw a smaller margin of decline. the Japanese real estate industry has esti- subsiding, however, reflecting growing con- The signs of a turnaround in land prices mated. cern about possible real-estate bubbles. stem in part from an increasing number of The fast inflow of foreign capital has also “Foreign money moves into Japan rapidly redevelopment projects in major cities trig- apparently been spurred by the govern- but also moves out quickly,” warns a gered by the economic recovery. An active ment’s call for megabanks to quickly dis- Japanese real estate broker. Broadcast / Telecom “Marriage” Gaining Steam – Capital Linkups, TV Program Delivery via Internet on the Rise – APANESE TV networks are stepping up scribers can view news, dramas and other industry’s about-face also seems to stem J moves aimed at the “marriage” of broad- programs in the archives whenever they from repeated remarks made by Horie casting and telecommunications. Tokyo want. TV Asahi has started offering a pay- Takafumi, the president of the Internet ser- Broadcasting System (TBS) has decided to per-view service in which subscribers can vice provider livedoor. During his bid to raise ¥28 billion by allocating and selling view performers on popular entertainment acquire Fuji TV, Horie said he wanted to uti- new shares to finance new mobile phone programs chatting with one another after lize TV content in his company’s Internet and Internet-related businesses, with some the broadcasts. TV companies are now services. of the funds to be invested in eMobile, a locked in a fierce competition to integrate The Council for Regulatory Reform, a company that aims to be a new mobile car- broadcasting and the Internet. government advisory body, has cited the rier. Japan’s largest advertising agency, TV companies had previously been reluc- need to take measures to spur competition Dentsu, has raised its stake in Fuji tant to promote such broadcasting/telecom- to integrate broadcasting and telecommuni- Television Network in a bid to bolster its munications combinations, bringing up the cations as one of its policy priorities for alliance with the TV broadcaster in such new issue of copyrights belonging to program 2005. The marriage of the two business business areas as distribution of TV content performers and scriptwriters. Spending on areas, however, is gathering steam at a via the Internet. Internet-based advertising in Japan, howev- much faster pace than the government can Methods of distributing TV programs have er, surged 53% in 2004 from the year deal with. begun to diversify. Nippon Television before to ¥181.4 billion, exceeding radio- Network (NTV) will launch a pay-per-view based advertising outlays. This has prompt- Editorial note: In a related development, Internet service via the Internet on an on-demand ed the broadcasting sector to see online shopping portal Rakuten has emerged as the largest basis in October. Fuji TV has also kicked off advertisements as a “new source of rev- shareholder in TBS, seeking to create a global media a video-on-demand service in which sub- enue” that should not be missed. The group based in Japan. 4 JAPAN SPOTLIGHT • November / December 2005.