June - 4 New Areas - 50kms From Fukushima - added to Radiation Impacted areas

Four new areas in northern Japan have been added to the list of places affected by radiation originating from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, authorities said Friday.


Three of the four are in the Ryozenmachi area, including about 180 households some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the Fukushima plant, said Takayuki Sato, a Date city official

Government data of the three hot spots showed an estimated radiation level between 20.1 to 20.8 millisieverts per year.

By comparison, the average resident of an industrialized country receives a dose of about 3 millisieverts per year.

The fourth spot is in the Haramachi neighborhood of Minamisoma, 33 kilometers away from the plant but outside of the area where the government has ordered targeted evacuations.

The four new areas are outside the evacuation zone.

Officials have been battling a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant following an earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11. 

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/06/10/japan.radiation/

CBRE Says EQ will cause office rents to soften and retail to stay flat

JAPAN'S earthquake and the resulting tsunami are likely to hit office and luxury retail rents in Tokyo, but the long-term impact on the country's industrial sector remains uncertain, according to CB Richard Ellis.

In a preliminary assessment of the quake's impact on Japan's real estate markets, CBRE found that demand in the industrial market could temporarily lift, but the long-term effects on industrial rents were still unclear.

CBRE's Asia Pacific and Japan research team also concluded:

■Tokyo office rents may soften amid the uncertain economic environment.
■Tokyo prime retail rents are expected to remain flat.
■Japanese investors and funds are likely to lead the recovery in transaction volumes, supported by domestic banks.

Nick Axford, CBRE's head of research, Asia Pacific, said it was too early to assess the full impact of the quake on Japan's real estate market.

''On the investment side, we anticipate that Japanese investors and funds will lead the recovery in transaction volume,'' he said.

''Though some overseas investors have adopted a 'wait-and-see' attitude, others are viewing this is as a possible purchasing opportunity.''

According to the report, the Japanese government estimated infrastructure losses at ¥16 to ¥25 trillion ($A189 to $A295 billion).

Economic growth would be a ''tug of war'' between rebuilding efforts and stagnant activity in the earthquake area of Tohoku, decreased production in other regions caused by production halts in Tohoku, and weakened consumer confidence.

The CBRE report said public finances were a concern, with Japan's net public debt at 120 per cent of gross domestic product and a national budget deficit of 10 per cent. However, ''Japan's strong sense of civil service, underscored by hard-working patient people with a strong will to rebuild, will fuel restoration efforts'', it said.

Mr Axford said office buildings in major cities near the affected area suffered relatively minor damage, while some bayside locations in Tokyo and Chiba faced liquefaction, shifting ground levels and infrastructure damage.

Demand for prime office space was expected to weaken while companies assessed the economic outlook and potential impact on business performance, he said.

''Prime office rents could dip by as much as 5 per cent while the lull in occupier activity persists.''
Longer term, prime office buildings were likely to benefit from occupiers placing greater emphasis on a building's earthquake resistance capabilities.

On the industrial front, Mr Axford said, two trends had emerged in greater Tokyo: disaster-affected companies were leasing short-term warehouse space - filling long-time vacancies, and demand for large-scale logistics facilities had risen.

''If repairs to damaged manufacturing bases in northern Japan are delayed, tenants may consolidate existing facilities in greater Tokyo,'' he said. ''However, if short-term demand fails to translate to longer-term requirements, there is unlikely to be any significant benefit to rents.''

He said high street retailers in metropolitan Tokyo suffered minimal physical damage, but were affected by consumers spending less and limited operating hours due to potential power cuts. Some retailers, especially foreign apparel and luxury brands, temporarily moved headquarters to Osaka or shut down completely. Japanese retailers, on the other hand, tended to stay put. ''By late April, all but a few retailers reopened for business,'' he said.

Mr Axford said rents would remain flat or soften slightly in the coming six months, but would begin to recover as the nuclear situation was brought under control and tourism began to recover.

On the investment market, most transactions scheduled to close in March and April were unaffected, but some deals were postponed or cancelled. This was mainly due to lenders taking a more cautious stance after the earthquake.''Overseas funds are adopting a 'wait-and-see' attitude as they re-evaluate the outlook for the real estate sector,'' Mr Axford said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/property/real-estate-pain-looms-as-uncertainty-plagues-japan-20110612-1fz3s.html#ixzz1PDHzjk4r

Japan Leisure Hotels Minority Shareholders Appalled by Directors and DKR Oasis

The shares of Japan Leisure Hotels Ltd were today cancelled from AIM
http://independent.moneyam.com/news/article.php?id=4161281&epic=

The minority shareholders believe that they have been screwed over by the directors of JLH and the main shareholder DKR Oasis (http://www.oasiscm.com/organization.html )
http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/view/pressrelease/japan-leisure-hotels-limited-japan-leisure-hotels-limited-jlh-or-the-company-statement-by-minority-shareholders-647100

We are minority shareholders in the Company, and have been since launch, owning in total 5.5% of the issued share capital. We are appalled at recent events culminating in the Board disposing of the Company's six hotels at a price equal to 28.4% of their net asset value. This represents a cap rate of almost 30%, a price per room of GBP44,000 or GBP67 per square foot of gross floor area. This is an historic low valuation in the leisure hotel market according to Alchemy Japan, a competitor of the Company.

Despite the difficulties of dealing with an 87.5% majority shareholder, the Board must take its share of the blame for this disastrous outcome. The Board knew in early 2010 that the DKR Oasis hedge fund was to be liquidated and that its shares in the Company were a significant part of that portfolio. However the Board failed to retain the services of a broker who could market the company to a wider range of investors than those institutions who had been contacted during the IPO process. In fact no significant marketing of the Company has been undertaken in Europe since 2009.

The Board says that the current business is not large enough to support the central overheads but the Company bought a hotel out of operating cash flow in 2008 and paid a 1p per share dividend in 2010, with a higher figure projected in 2011 according to independent research. Since the IPO in 2008, the Company's net asset value has risen by 62% in sterling terms, a record of some merit compared to many international funds listed in London. That the share price has fallen by 54% during the same period is evidence that the Board has failed to promote the Company adequately.

When it came to the current transaction, the Board failed to engage a financial adviser to manage the process and advise on tactics, relying on the Nomad to advise on the AIM rules and the Majority Shareholder to conduct an auction, a job for which he was clearly unqualified. We believe the erratic conduct of this process led to a number of credible buyers withdrawing, when they might have made proposals more favourable to the minority shareholders.

We made it clear to the Board that the minority shareholders did not wish to participate in a fire sale of assets and preferred to retain a shareholding going forward. Our preference was to leave the Company listed and obtain finance for the Company to buy in the DKR Oasis fund's shares for cancellation. Alternatively, the DKR Oasis fund's JLH shares might have been distributed to their investors in specie, leaving them to sell shares in the market, should they wish to exit for cash. Either of these outcomes would have been better for all the minority investors.

The minority shareholders refer to a comment about the low valuation for the JLH transaction -
http://japanrealestatecommentary.blogspot.com/2011/05/q1-2011-japan-leisure-hotel-operator.html

We have been following this story for a while - apart from the conduct of the DKR Oasis and the Board; which raise serious issues for the minority shareholders - there are also large questions raised about the Colliers Valuations which were used to support valuations for this company -  http://japanrealestatecommentary.blogspot.com/2011/05/investegate-japan-leisure-hotels.html

The Japanese leisure hotel sector is a sector that seems attractive and may offer high returns
 http://japanrealestatecommentary.blogspot.com/2010/06/foreign-investors-in-japanese-leisure.html

But JLH has been another story of investors having issues in this sector -
http://japanrealestatecommentary.blogspot.com/2010/01/japanese-retail-investors-look-to.html
http://japanrealestatecommentary.blogspot.com/2010/09/love-hotel-fund-freezes-redemptions.html

However, some players seems to be doing well in this sector - 
http://japanrealestatecommentary.blogspot.com/2011/08/japan-leisure-hotel-operator-announce.html

2010 - 30.4% of 15-24year olds are Casually Employed

Nonregular employees accounted for 30.4 percent of workers aged 15 to 24 in calender 2010, up 0.4 percentage point from the previous year, the government said Tuesday.

While last year's overall jobless rate stood at 5.1 percent, unchanged from 2009, the unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 19 rose to 9.8 from 9.6 percent, while the rate for those aged 20 to 24 expanded to 9.1 from 9.0 percent, according to a white paper on children and the young approved by the Cabinet.

The number of so-called young freeters — part-timers who frequently switch jobs — aged 15 to 34 increased for the second year running to about 1.83 million, the paper said.

It also reported that child counseling centers nationwide received a record 44,211 inquiries over child abuse in fiscal 2009 through March 2010, up 3.6 percent from the previous fiscal year.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20110608a3.html

Tokyo Residents Worried about Radiation Levels

A group of Tokyo parents filed a request Tuesday asking the metropolitan government to change the way it determines radiation levels in the capital after their own study found relatively high levels of contamination around Koto Ward.

"No! Hoshano Koto Kodomo Mamoru Kai" ("No! Radioactivity — The Group to Save Children in Koto") found that some areas in Koto Ward, located in the eastern part of the capital, had a maximum hourly reading of 0.18 microsievert of radiation.

That number is a fraction of the level in Fukushima Prefecture, which hit about 1.6 microsieverts per hour on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, the group warned, their findings indicate that some Tokyo children are in danger of being exposed to more than 1 millisievert of radiation per year, the nonbonding limit set by the education ministry for Fukushima Prefecture students.

"This should be taken as a sign that a grave (contamination) is in progress in Tokyo," Ayako Ishikawa, the leader of the group, said during a news conference.

The metropolitan government checks levels of radioactivity at an elevation of 18 meters in Shinjuku Ward, where the maximum hourly reading was about 0.06 microsievert on Tuesday.

But Ishikawa insists such readings are unreliable and should be taken at about 1 meter above the ground.

"We request that the Tokyo government and Koto Ward properly check the radiation levels, especially around school areas and parks," she said.

According to Ishikawa, her group, which has about 35 members, checked the soil and air in Koto Ward for contaminants between May 21 and 25 with the help of Kobe University professor Tomoya Yamauchi.

Yamauchi, an expert on radiation physics, said high levels of contamination were detected in soil, especially around a plant in Koto Ward that produces sludge, an ingredient in cement, where the level reached 2,300 becquerels per kilogram.

That level is about a third of the 6,550 becquerels per kilogram detected at a schoolyard in Fukushima Prefecture in April.

"But I can say that I wouldn't let my child play baseball at the ballpark, which is located near the sludge factory," Yamauchi said, adding there is concern the factory itself could be releasing radioactive particles.

"The metropolitan government should reveal the safety measures taken in the factory, and conduct proper radiation level checks at the facility, including the chimney," Yamauchi added.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110608a6.html

April - Japan Hotel's RevPAR Down - Sendai Up

According STR Global, Japanese hotels have reacted with composure in the aftermath of the recent earthquake, tsunami and the related radiation issues from the Fukushima nuclear plant in the Tōhoku region of northeastern Honshu. In solidarity with the Japanese people and business communities, the hotel industry has shown admirable commitment to helping those affected by the disaster.

For example, several of Tokyo's three- and four-star hotels have made themselves available as public shelters to help cope with the influx of displaced people and those seeking to distance themselves from the possibility of radiation exposure. The Grand Prince Akasaka, one of the city's most prestigious addresses, was due to close at the end of March, but has stayed open to offer accommodation to some of the 30,000-plus evacuees from the Fukushima Prefecture. Solare Hotels & Resorts, which manages hotels in 73 destinations across the country, is offering 10,000 roomnights free of charge in its Chisun and Loisir-branded hotels. Additionally, many hotels have waived cancellation fees.

Data from STR Global shows that hotels in Sendai, the city nearest the earthquake's epicenter, Sapporo and Tokyo have borne the brunt of the impact of the disaster. Cities further from the centre of the catastrophe were generally impacted less.

Revenue per available room performance (JPY) and year-on-year percentage change



Occupancy in Japan was down 21.3 percent for March 2011 and 27.6 percent for April 2011 compared with the same months in 2010. Tokyo and Sendai showed greater falls in occupancy of 33.6 percent and 36.7 percent for March, respectively, compared to the nationwide occupancy decrease.

Sendai's RevPAR declined 22.7 percent in March 2011 before increasing by 77.2 percent in April 2011. Demand is expected to remain firm with, firstly, the resumption of the normal operation of the Tohoku Shinkansen express train helping volunteers, relief and reconstruction teams get to the affected area and, secondly, with insurance companies sending plenty of staff to the Sendai area to assess claims.

By comparison Tokyo, some 300 kilometers to the south of Sendai, saw plummeting occupancies that fell from 83 percent in March 2010 to 55 percent in March 2011, as people sought to move away from the threat of radiation exposure. Further south, Osaka saw only a small reduction in occupancy (-2.8 percent) whilst Kobe actually experienced a rise of 6 percent.

"Our deepest sympathies go to those affected by the dramatic earthquake and tsunami in Japan," said Elizabeth Randall, managing director of STR Global. "Declines in RevPAR are nothing against the overall suffering of the country and the loss of life. With the resilience of the Japanese people, the country and industry will surely recover."

http://www.worldpropertychannel.com/international-markets/vacation-leisure-real-estate/japan-earth-quake-nuclear-disaster-in-japan-japan-tsunami-damage-in-japan-from-earthquake-str-global-solare-hotels-resorts-the-grand-prince-akasaka-sendai-disaster-tokyo-hotels-4366.php

2010- Japan's Fertility Rate Edges Up

Japan's fertility rate rose 0.02 point to 1.39 in 2010, after leveling off for two years, thanks to an increase in births among women in their late 30s and a rise in the number of women with more than one child, population data released by the health ministry showed Wednesday. 


The total fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman will bear over her lifetime -- rose after hitting a record low of 1.26 in 2005 and remaining flat at 1.37 in 2008 and 2009, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

In 2010, birthrates among women in their late teens and early 20s dropped but rose among those between their late 20s and late 40s, it said.


http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9NIUUQ80&show_article=1