Rents in Tokyo aren’t really that cheap on a square meter basis, just the size of unit you can rent is much smaller. Housing is actually more expensive to buy than many American cities (comparing equivalent sizes).
Fair point, but people tend to demand less space right? Is the average-sized rental affordable for the average income in the city? I've heard the relative affordability is better than most of the Western world.
Incomes kind of suck in Tokyo, so no. The average income is like 325,000 yen/month, the average for an 85 sqm apartment in an average area is 271,000 yen/month. Life is tough, you need to think small or think super long commute.