In June 2024, a couple living in a rental apartment in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward received an email from their landlord requesting a rent hike of 40,000 yen ($250) after their lease renewal -- a shock that made them consider moving.For four years, the husband, in his 50s, and wife, in her 30s, had been renting the 1DK (one room plus kitchen) unit of about 40 square meters. It is in a reinforced concrete building over 20 years old.Just a one-minute walk from the station, the apartment features floor heating and a bathroom dehumidifier, while the basement houses a mechanical multi-level parking ga…READ FULL ARTICLE
