Mention Japan and real estate and the next word that springs to mind is usually “expensive”. But two decades of deflation have seen steady declines in Japanese land values, with prices in Tokyo falling 11.3 per cent in 2009 alone. And the rapid economic development of neighbouring countries has also made Japanese property more affordable in relative terms.

“If you avoid the expat residential areas, a detached house in central Tokyo is significantly cheaper than the equivalent in New York, Paris or London,” says Frank Sylvian, a financial services executive who recently bought a house in Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward.

As in other markets, location plays a key role in property prices. Homes in Tokyo generally cost more than comparable dwellings in other parts of Japan, with prices kept high by students, job hunters, businesspeople and even retirees migrating to the capital from secondary cities and rural areas. The Tokyo Metropolitan Area, which includes neighbouring Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama prefectures, gained more than 117,000 residents in 2009.