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For those curious - this is apparently due to laws regarding depreciation: http://www.archdaily.com/450212/why-japan-is-crazy-about-hou...

"Collectively, the write-off equates to an annual loss of 4% of Japan’s total GDP, not to mention mountains of construction waste."

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I'm not seeing anything in there regarding any law. My understanding of the issue is that it's simply the norm. Expectation is houses only last 30 years, so nobody spends more to make them last beyond that.

This is an awesome article, I recommend clicking on it if just for the pictures.

sidenote: Thanks to Google and people like jcdavis I don't have to remember anything myself

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