{
  "id": 1141748,
  "title": "Apartment Investment: Higher Interest Rates Lead to a Chain Reaction of Rent Increases - Owners' and Tenants' Thoughts\n\nThe recent surge in interest rates has sent shockwaves through Japan's apartment investment market, triggering a chain reaction of rent increases.\n\nThis has left many apartment owners, who have taken out large loans to purchase their properties, scrambling to make ends meet.\n\nAt the same time, tenants are also feeling the pinch, as they face the prospect of higher rents.\n\nIn Tokyo, for example, some apartment owners are being forced to raise rents in order to keep up with their mortgage payments.\n\nOne owner, who wished to remain anonymous, said that his monthly mortgage payment had increased by 20% over the past year.\n\n\"It's getting to the point where I'm not sure if I can continue to make ends meet,\" he said.\n\nAnother owner, who owns a small apartment in Osaka, said that she had been forced to raise her rent by 10% in order to keep up with her mortgage payments.\n\n\"I feel terrible about raising the rent, but I have no choice,\" she said.\n\nTenants are also feeling the strain.\n\n\"I've already seen my rent increase by 5% this year,\" said one tenant in Tokyo.\n\n\"If it goes up again, I don't know if I can afford to stay here,\" he said.\n\nThe situation is not expected to improve anytime soon, as interest rates are likely to remain high for the foreseeable future.\n\nAs a result, apartment owners and tenants alike are bracing themselves for further rent increases.\n\nThe government has announced measures to help support apartment owners, including subsidies for those who are struggling to make their mortgage payments.\n\nHowever, it remains to be seen whether these measures will be enough to mitigate the impact of the rent increases.\n\nFor now, apartment owners and tenants will have to wait and see how the situation unfolds.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/15/story-1141748",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-15T23:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Asahi Shimbun",
    "slug": "the-asahi-shimbun",
    "url": "http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASV8D2S33V8DULFA01GM.html?ref=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "ja",
  "account": null,
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}