39 ASIAN LEGAL BUSINESS – DECEMBER 2023 WWW.LEGALBUSINESSONLINE.COM REAL ESTATE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY The Bank of Japan’s decision to maintain a loose monetary policy has resulted in the yen dropping almost 14 percent against the U.S. dollar in 2023, which industry watchers say is a thirtyyear low. “As the value of the Japanese yen reached historic lows against other major currencies like the U.S. Dollar, a window of opportunity opened to cross-border players holding available investment funds in other currencies to acquire Japan assets priced attractively in Japanese yen. Investors are taking advantage of this window of opportunity. As the value of the yen likely increases in the future, opportunistic investors will see their returns boosted by favourable exchange rate changes,” says Joel Rothstein, chair of U.S. law firm Greenberg Traurig’s Asia real estate practice. While partly driven by the devaluing currency, the surge in investment is also driven by low interest rates and a stable geopolitical climate, particularly for those looking to reallocate funds from China, where a real estate crisis and geopolitical concerns have chilled investments. “Japan’s geopolitical landscape has fostered relative economic stability, leading the government to initiate strategies aimed at enticing foreign investments. This drive is supported by Japan’s low-interest rates and a weakened Japanese yen in the foreign exchange market,” says Jun Usami, executive partner
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