Compared to other countries and put aside the low income , to me Japan is the most ideal country to live in Asia , my son lives and works in Japan for five years now .
This is why a land based tax or a tax on the rising value of land would be useful as it would incentivice people to use their property for productive purposes.
I remember something like that from like 15 years ago! There was some Malaysian guy and his wife that I met through a friend and we were invited to have lunch with them. They brought this whole portfolio showing the future of Malaysia. Now that I think of it, I bet that this was the same place that he was showing me!!! I think that he was here in Japan trying to attract investors in buying condominiums there or something for a second house. He went on and on about how awesome Malaysia was and kept showing me all of these computer rendered images of the condos and shopping centers etc...