The Tokyo Shimbun newspaper on May 29th reported that the price of new apartments in the city center has remained high, reaching 13 times the average annual income. It seems that the price is on par with the price during the bubble era. I was a high school student during the bubble economy from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, and housing prices were also soaring at that time, becoming a social problem. I still remember that then Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said something to the effect of, “It is desirable for housing prices to be about five times the annual income.” In the early 2000s, housing prices were about 6-7 times the annual income, but before we knew it, they had expanded to 13 times… It is certain that the background to this is the high price of construction materials due to the weak yen and the labor shortage, but it seems that purchases for investment purposes, mainly by Chinese people, are also having an impact. Unlike the bubble, it does not seem like it will suddenly collapse, but if that is the case, housing prices may continue to rise little by little.
The article also included comments from experts, who said that new construction in the city center is now a market for the wealthy, and that ordinary people should not get involved. This is because the ratio of loan repayments to annual income is rising, putting pressure on people’s lives.
Stock prices, house prices, and many other aspects of the economy are on the same level as they were in the bubble era, but unlike back then, there is no euphoric mood, which is a characteristic of modern society. This is because it is a world that has no connection to the general public, who make up the overwhelming majority. Only the wealthy are happy when stock prices rise. Even when house prices soar, only the wealthy can easily purchase them. The current Japanese economy is basically running for the wealthy.
I approve of a society with inequality. I believe that a certain degree of disparity is a natural part of life, and I place more importance on the effect of stimulating the ambition of individuals. However, I sound the alarm when inequality exceeds a certain limit. A world in which only a small number of wealthy people, who have risen to power by using the overwhelming majority of working people as a stepping stone, are triumphant, must be changed.(Kitajima Kei)