Japan was one of Asia's first fully developed countries to rise from a crippled economy after WWII and become the world's second-largest economy in the 1980s. Many of Japan's most famous companies are its real estate developers who helped re-build the country during that time and many are still in business and larger than ever. Below we've compiled a list of Japan's top real estate developers.


5. Nomura Real Estate

Yokohama Nomura Building"Yokohama Nomura Building" by thirteen-fri is licensed under CC BY 4.0 


A subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate, Nomura Holdings, whose business interests include banking and financial services. Nomura Holdings is also a publicly listed company on the Tokyo, New York, and Singapore stock exchanges. Their real estate arm Nomura Real Estate is a powerhouse in Japan and has completed projects in the residential and commercial sectors. Some of their residential projects include the 'Proud' and 'Ohana' series of condominiums. They've also completed successful projects in Thailand and Vietnam.


4. Mori Trust

Entrance to Mori Art Museum"Entrance to Mori Art Museum" by mattlucht is licensed under CC BY 2.0 


Formerly known as the Mori Building Company, Mori Trust is one of the oldest real estate developers in Japan. Responsible for billion-dollar projects like Roppongi Hills and the Shangri-La Hotel Tokyo, Mori Trust has now expanded into the United States and plans to develop large scale office complexes in Washington, D.C. and New York.


3. Mitsui Fudosan

Mitsui main building"Mitsui main building" by 663highland is licensed under CC BY 2.0 


Among the "Big 3" real estate developers in Japan. Mitsui Fudosan is a subsidiary of Mitsui Group. A publicly listed company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, they have built several large scale office and residential buildings across Japan. They recently undertook a large scale redevelopment project in Nihonbashi, which will totally reshape the district in the future. They are also partners in the multi-billion dollar Hudson Yards Project in New York City.


2. Sumitomo Realty & Development

Nishi-Shinjuku Sumitomo Realty & Development

"Nishi-Shinjuku Sumitomo Realty & Development" by kiragara is licensed under CC BY 2.0 


Headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Sumitomo is 2nd in Japan's "Big 3" developers. They currently hold a real estate portfolio valued at over 5.7 trillion yen (51 billion USD). Some of its holdings include Roppongi Grand Tower, Shinjuku Oak City, and Izumi Garden Tower.


1.Mitsubishi Estate

Mitsubishi Nagoya Hospital"Mitsubishi Nagoya Hospital" by Abasaa is licensed under CC BY 2.0 


Simply the largest real estate developer in Japan, you can't go far without finding a building that Mitsubishi Estate hasn't had its hands in. Not only do they own the 2nd tallest building in Japan, Yokohama Landmark Tower, but they also recently announced plans to build Japan's tallest building by the year 2027. Mitsubishi Estate currently holds the largest real estate portfolio in Japan valued at 7.4 trillion yen (65 billion USD).


Sources: Asia Property HQ, Wikipedia, Nomura Real Estate

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