The Japanese government and their business communities are on a global outreach to engage with businesses and investors all over the world. In the recent 2 years, JETRO, or Japan External Trade Organization, supported by IESingapore, or International Enterprise Singapore (formerly and better known as Trade Development Board of Singapore), co-organised several “Invest Japan” symposiums in Singapore.

At the most recent symposium held on 29May15, the Chairman and CEO of JETRO, Mr Hiroyuki Ishige, updated about the progress of Abenomics and the positive changes in the Japanese business environment. He stressed that Japan has been widely and wrongly perceived as...

Japan has been grossly misunderstood as a country with high costs. Most Singaporeans have the impression that taxes, taxi fares, food, etc are much more expensive than what we have at home. At the very top end, their kaiseiki dinner might cost than the same in Singapore but what about the quality? In terms of price-value performance, the dinner in Japan beats Singapore. In the mass market segment, the same item in a Japanese rice-bowl fast food chain, served with better quality beef, costs less in Tokyo than it costs here.

Real estate investments are not expensive compared with Singapore...

If we had invested in Beijing’s real estate in 2002 or in London’s real estate in 2006, by the time their respective Olympic Games came around six years later in 2008 and in 2012, we would have been sitting on rather handsome financial gains. 

Comparatively, if we had invested in Singapore’s real estate in 2004 and six years later when both the integrated resorts opened in 2010, we would have made a handsome profit on our real estate investments. 

It is great to be able to learn from hindsight. And even better if we could invest with the wisdom of...

A year is not considered a long time in real estate markets. Especially for a well-established and matured economy like Japan’s where during the Lost Two Decades, real estate prices remained flat after Japan’s bubble collapsed. Since deflation ruled Japan’s economy since the mid-90s till after the Lehman crisis, Japanese real estate are rarely ever considered for capital gains.

In the last 12 months, the tides turned. Twenty years of stagnation in the real estate market was stirred up after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won the election in December 2012. He kept to his campaign promises of high government spending...