Japan rents rise 0.6% as repair costs jump 4.5% in September 2026
Japanese rents rose 0.6% in the year to September 2026 while repair and upkeep costs rose 4.5%, narrowing what a rental property actually returns.
The facts
- The housing group of Japan's consumer price index stood at 101.3 in September 2026, +1.1% year on year, against +2.1% for all items, the Statistics Bureau of Japan reported on 23 October 2026 (2025 = 100).
- Rent reached 100.6, +0.6%. Private-sector rent rose +0.8% and imputed rent for owner-occupiers +0.5%.
- Repairs and maintenance reached 105.1, +4.5%, after +4.0% in August. Exterior wall painting alone rose +7.5%.
- Rent carries a weight of 1,861 out of 10,000 in the basket and repairs and maintenance 321, so the cost line moves the index far less than it moves an owner's accounts.
- Excluding imputed rent the all-items index was 102.5, +2.5%, above the +2.1% headline.
What it means for your money
- Rents are rising 0.6% a year and upkeep costs 4.5%. Net income from a Japanese rental shrinks even when every rent is paid.
- Glopra's data for Japan shows an average USD 5,397 per square metre against a rent of USD 11.16 per square metre a month, so the gross return is thin to begin with and a +4.5% maintenance bill takes a larger bite out of it than it would in a higher-yielding market.
- An owner already letting in Japan faces the cost side in lumps rather than in annual increments: exterior wall painting, up +7.5%, is periodic work, and the rent indexation that has to pay for it is +0.6%.
What to watch
- The October national index is published on 20 November 2026.
- Repairs and maintenance accelerated from +4.0% in August to +4.5% in September; rent moved from +0.5% to +0.6%.
- No seasonally adjusted monthly series is published for housing or rent. The raw monthly changes were +0.1% for both in September.
Sources: Statistics Bureau of Japan https://www.stat.go.jp/data/cpi/sokuhou/tsuki/pdf/zenkoku.pdf; Statistics Bureau of Japan https://www.stat.go.jp/data/cpi/sokuhou/tsuki/index-z.html