[yourapostasy]

Interesting, any insight to why the Japanese body politic expresses a stronger preference for new and denser construction? I've heard anecdotally that Japanese culture specifically (and Asian culture more loosely) tends to shun "used" housing far more than the US market, but haven't been able to find any reference to support that hearsay.

[donw]

That is broadly true -- used houses have negative value here in Japan, as you need to first tear the thing down so that you can build whatever it is that you want.

In Japan, things shake. A lot. Earthquake damage adds up pretty quickly, and is stupidly expensive to engineer against, so most houses are built with an expected lifespan of probably somewhere around 50 years.

They're certainly safe, but there is a strong expectation that a family will live there until the kids move out and the parents retire.

Highrises are economically preferable for a number of reasons. Japan has both an excellent rail transit network and sane zoning laws. So you end up with a cluster of highrises around a train station, where the bottom 1-3 levels are devoted to shopping, recreation, and everything else that you would see in a typical shopping mall.

Life revolves around the rail network, at least in Tokyo. You don't as much go from the Ikebukuro Ward to the Shinjuku Ward as you go from Home to Ikebukuro Station to Shinjuku Station to Where It Is You Want To Go.

I don't see this ever happening in the US, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Personally, I would much prefer a larger number of slightly smaller cities, with companies either going fully-remote, or establishing a federated group of (drastically cheaper) offices in multiple cities. You end up with a lot more local flavor, but without the SF or NYC rents.