Ik kom nog van het te zeggen: ‘t zijn rare mensen.

Japan is good at making many things, including reliable cars, incredibly small consumer electronics, and innovative vending machines that sell everything from rice to hot corn soup in a can. However, after due consideration, I have to say that Japanese modern houses are just not the best in the world. As Japan’s economy has matured after its long period of economic expansion, home builders have latched onto building “disposable homes” that last only 15-20 years, encouraging families to tear down their old home and build a new one as often as possible — in effect, creating the same “planned obsolescence” that can be found in a Sony Walkman. The government has helped, by bringing interest rates down so low you can get a home loan for 2.25% (sorry, we can’t arrange any loans for you). In today’s deflationary economy, construction companies compete to bring prices down, often choosing materials of lesser quality, since the house only needs to last two decades or so. Sometimes this cutting of corners results in homes that are dangerously sub-standard, and every other week you can see television reports on “kekkan jutaku” (defective housing) that would chill your blood. Unlike other countries, where the value of homes increases each year, houses in Japan are worth effectively $0 after they’re built, due to the total lack of demand for “used houses.” [J-List]