Number of new housing units started in Japan 2014-2023

In 2023, approximately 819.6 thousand housing starts were initiated in Japan. This represented a decline of 4.6 percent compared to the previous year. The highest figure in the past decade was recorded in 2016. 

Housing construction in Japan

Both, the number of and floor area of new construction projects declined compared to 2022. Broken down by type of building, apartment construction starts exceeded the number of single-family home construction starts for the first time in the past decade. Looking at the number of construction starts by use, construction starts for owned dwellings saw the sharpest decline, while construction starts for homes for rent remained the largest category.

Housing stock in Japan

Japan’s housing stock comprises more than 60 million dwellings, with detached houses accounting for the largest share, followed by apartment buildings. As a result of the demographic development, the growing housing stock already exceeds the number of households, resulting in rising vacancy rates across the country. As of 2018, around seven million dwellings were estimated to not meet the requirements of a new seismic code for buildings introduced in 1981, a share of around 13 percent which the government aims to reduce to zero by 2025.