Japan didn't have 500 thousand illegal immigrants pouring into their country shoring up rentals and buying entry level housing like the US does. Japan's real estate was all internal speculation. While the US market has been highly speculative there is also a demand component to it that Japan did not/does not have. People complain about illegals but we need immigration to pay for the baby boomers who are probably going to live way longer then the mortality tables say. I would guess most anyone 55 now will live to 100. John