Quote:
Originally Posted by bizaro86
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That's paywalled. But it's well known that there are two major differences in Japan:
1. They do not have a rapidly expanding population and take on very few immigrants. This is likely to, however, cause all sorts of much more disastrous economic effects, as the population continues to shrink. The population of Japan has been shrinking for about 1.5 decades and this process is expected to accelerate.
2. Japan has extremely practical zoning and building laws. The average house in Japan lasts 20-30 years, depending on the materials its constructed from. People are simply allowed to build new buildings without being dragged down with red tape. The country also zoned the entire country into 1 of 12 zones and allows any kind of building that complies with the zoning to be built within each zone, without some crazy permitting system. There are no town hall debates about building a skyrise. If the (very broad) zoning and market conditions allow it, the build is a go.