Japan Retail MarketView Q2 2026

Average rents set new record highs in four areas; available space in Tokyo extremely tight as Shinjuku’s vacancy rate reaches 0.0% 

• In Q2 2026, average rents rose q-o-q in five of the ten surveyed areas (four areas in Tokyo and Shinsaibashi), with average rents in four of the five (excluding Shinjuku) setting new record highs. The remaining four areas (Umeda, Kyoto, Sakae, and Tenjin) recorded no change in rents, while Kobe saw rents decline.

• Prime area vacancy rates fell q-o-q in six areas (Omotesando/Harajuku, Shinjuku, Shinsaibashi, Kyoto, Kobe, and Sakae), while those in the other three areas were unchanged. Shinjuku’s vacancy rate fell to 0.0%, bringing all four Tokyo areas — including Omotesando/Harajuku at 0.1% — to near-zero availability, leaving street-level retail supply across the capital extremely tight.

• Leasing demand was led by outdoor and sporting goods and health and beauty (fragrance and cosmetics) retailers. With available units increasingly limited, the quarter saw a number of cases in which retailers secured locations through means other than conventional leasing, including direct property acquisition.

• Given retailers’ broadly robust appetite for new store openings, average high street rents are expected to continue their upward trend. The range of retail sectors and nationalities among retailers willing to accept higher rents is becoming increasingly diverse. Retailers are pursuing flagship store openings in Ginza and Shinsaibashi, which could serve as a further catalyst for average rent growth in the coming quarters.