Tokyo - September 4, 2009 - Today, the Nikkei Real Estate Market Report is pleased to introduce its completely renewed monthly research report. The online publication delivers peerlessly detailed information on the Japanese commercial real estate market to the global investor community, in PDF file format.

Each issue contains a diverse mix of stories, ranging from strategies of international investors to trends in Tokyo submarkets and second-tier cities. The newly added News Digest section offers a summary of stories selected from more than a hundred daily news updates on our website, along with a list of major property sales. The Last Word section provides columns and interviews on the most current issues.

Based on our Japanese publication and redesigned from the ground up, the revamp of the monthly report is part of our recent efforts to deliver more up-to-date, detailed information to our customers in a user-friendly manner.

Over the past year, we have striven to improve our translation and production work flow. Regarding our online daily news articles, there had been a time lag of up to two days for the posting of the English version after a Japanese article was posted, but we have now realized the simultaneous posting of most of our articles. In our newly revamped monthly report, production time has also been reduced to one-third of the previous 40-day period. We plan to provide next issue of the monthly report in mid-September.

Through the complete renewal of the website this fall, we will be offering an upgraded user experience. We are also planning to prepare innovative ways to provide property transaction data and map locations.

Additionally, we are also posting on the website a map and list of the 160 large-scale office building development projects currently in progress in Tokyo. This information is based on not only publicly announced materials but also on onsite survey conducted by our staff, making it an unparalleled source of information in Japan.

We hope that you continue to look forward to The Nikkei Real Estate Market Report as we continue to evolve.

What's inside the new monthly report - issue 1

The feature article of the 19-page inaugural issue covers the real estate market of Toyota Motor's backyard, Nagoya City, whose economic slowdown is even more severe than that of the rest of the country. With few transactions being realized due to a large spread between buyer and seller asking prices, local real estate companies are voicing the opinion that "the situation is unreadable even for the market." In our exclusive direct research of the status of the city's market, the report cites that "the fund bubble has burst."

The first issue also covers development trends in Yokohama City, the port city adjacent to Tokyo. Here as well, a string of large-scale development projects has been frozen or suspended. The article also introduces the support measures that the government has embarked on in response to fears over an oversupply in the office market.

This issue also covers the litigation surrounding negotiations over a rent increase in an office lease contract. Set at the Marunouchi Trust Tower adjacent to Tokyo Station, the trial pits the owner, Mori Trust, against the tenant, Sumitomo Forestry. Close analysis of the judgment's contents offers important lessons for avoiding trouble in the future.

Fifteen transaction cases are covered as case studies, including Lone Star's disposal of an office building in Nihonbashi. The monthly "Rents and Relocations" feature compiles movements in Chuo Wards. In the "Last Word" section, Professor Yuichiro Kawaguhi of Waseda University and an authority of real estate finance, states his view on the CMBS crisis and public financing.

About the NIKKEI REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT: An online media by Nikkei Business Publications, Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the leading business newspaper publisher NIKKEI, Inc. It offers exclusive news on real estate deals and developments in Japan, as well as in-depth market analysis to the specialists. More information can be found at http://realestate.nikkeibp.co.jp/