Chapter 4: Creating Comfortable Living Spaces

The Basic Plan for Housing was formulated based on projections of future population and household numbers that underpin housing policy. By 2050, population and household numbers are expected to decline, single-person households to increase, inherited homes to emerge in large numbers in established residential areas and elsewhere, and the working-age population to shrink. The plan organizes these changes and the future of housing into three perspectives: people who live in homes, homes themselves, and the players who support housing, and sets 11 goals.

This chapter focuses on creating comfortable living spaces and addresses stable and improved housing, pleasant living environments, bicycle use, and convenient transportation. Alongside housing measures, it covers green urban environments, roads that prioritize people, coordination among transport modes, and better conditions for using public transport.

Enforcement of the amended condominium laws is intended to secure a good residential environment in condominiums and protect the public's lives and property from damage to aging condominiums.

The opening of Hiroshima Electric Railway's Ekimae Ohashi route improved access between Hiroshima Station and the city center.

The amended condominium laws, enacted in May 2025 as Act No. 47 of 2025, facilitate management and renewal across the lifecycle from new construction to renewal. They establish proper management from the time of construction based on management plans; renewal measures enabling decisions by majority vote on the bulk sale of buildings and sites or building upgrades; and a registration system for private organizations that support consultation and consensus building. In preparation for enforcement in April 2026, the government revised the standard condominium management rules and basic policy, prepared guidelines for local governments, and held briefings in all 47 prefectures.

Through its securitization support for Flat 35, the Japan Housing Finance Agency ensures housing quality through technical standards, including durability requirements, and property inspections. It offers products that lower interest rates for homes meeting certain standards in any one of the following areas: earthquake resistance, energy efficiency, accessibility, or durability and adaptability; rates are also reduced according to factors such as the number of children. The agency also supports the provision of reverse mortgage home loans, Reverse 60, for older people. Under the fiscal 2026 tax reform, the home loan tax deduction's application period will be extended by five years, borrowing limits and deduction periods will be expanded for existing homes with high energy efficiency and other features, and existing homes in the 40-square-meter range will newly qualify. From 2028 onward, a location requirement will exclude new homes in certain hazard areas. The reform will also extend expiring special measures and revise some requirements.

As part of the public-private Housing Literacy Platform initiative, the website "Build Your Housing Decision-Making Skills Now: Sumaliter," which provides information to improve people's ability to make decisions about housing, was launched in 2025.

Road policies aim to improve safety on arterial roads while shifting motor vehicle traffic away from local streets, where they seek to reduce speeds and prevent through traffic from entering. In response to rising accidents involving bicycles and pedestrians and the spread of electric kick scooters and similar devices, the government is improving spaces for travel and promoting awareness of traffic rules. It is also creating lively public spaces through initiatives such as the Hokomichi system, installing map signs, and enabling flexible road management by local governments and road cooperation organizations.

Bicycle policies promote separated travel spaces for pedestrians, cyclists, and motor vehicles; bicycle parking; bike-sharing; and coordination with local public transport. They encourage businesses and others to promote bicycle commuting and certify proactive businesses. For tourism, they improve cycling environments and National Cycle Routes and promote cycle trains and cycle buses. They publicize traffic rules in cooperation with the police and promote ordinances requiring insurance coverage, while also making use of bicycles for travel and transport during disasters.

Local governments establish councils of relevant stakeholders and formulate comprehensive transport strategies covering the future vision for cities and regions, transport services, necessary transport and urban development measures, and implementation programs. The national government supports infrastructure such as LRT based on these strategies. To improve conditions for using public transport, it supports the introduction of LRT, BRT, and cashless payments, and advances extensions of urban monorails and other systems as well as accessibility improvements for trams.

In the Tokyo metropolitan area, extensions of the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line (Toyosu to Sumiyoshi) and Namboku Line (Shinagawa to Shirokane-takanawa) are underway. The Tama Monorail extension (Kamikitadai Station to the provisional No. 7 Station near Hakonegasaki Station) was approved as a project in May 2025, and the New Airport Line (Tokyu Kamata Station to the provisional Kamata New Station) in October of the same year. In the Osaka area, construction of the Naniwasuji Line is underway. To encourage bus and taxi use amid population decline, the government supports introducing location information services, cashless payments, electric vehicles, non-step buses, and universal design taxis, as well as congestion avoidance, higher-capacity vehicles, express buses, and improved access at regional airports and stations.