Is there a lottery for chiefs and paper companies?

"Background" of condominium sales October 27, 19:54

"My home" is a once-in-a-lifetime shopping experience for many people.

It is carefully selected in consideration of various conditions such as transportation access and child-rearing environment as well as price.

However, lottery is required at popular condominiums in central Tokyo where favorable conditions are met.

Maybe some people have given up crying and crying.

However, what if there was a person who could obtain such a property "in a certain way" without a lottery?

It was the active mayor of Tokyo.

(Reporter, Social Affairs Department, Tomomitsu Fujimoto, Masashi Toyoda)

Resale of luxury condominiums one after another?

The reporter started interviewing last fall.

The information from the interviewee said, "Mayor Masami Ishikawa of Chiyoda Ward seems to be repeatedly reselling luxury condominiums."

Chiyoda Ward is the center of Tokyo with the Imperial Palace and Kasumigaseki, and is also famous for its many high-class residential areas.

If we repeatedly resell condominiums in Chiyoda Ward, we would be able to make a considerable profit.

I thought so, but the buying and selling itself is personal freedom and of course there is no problem.

However, there was one point I was concerned about.

Among the multiple condominiums identified based on the registry, there was a property whose height restrictions were relaxed with the permission of Chiyoda Ward.

An 18-story condominium located in Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku.

Mayor Masami Ishikawa (79), his wife, and his second son jointly own the room, which is 10 meters above the upper limit of the area.

It is based on the system stipulated in the Building Standards Law, and when I looked it up, the legal permit holder was Mayor Ishikawa himself.

If it becomes possible to build a high-priced condominium, there will be a great advantage for the sales company.

The property is owned by the ward mayor, who is the licensee, and his family.

This in itself seemed to raise doubts about the relationship with the sales company, but that alone is not a problem.

I decided to continue the interview to find out the background.

A clue in the corner of the ad

The Japanese real estate market has little data such as published selling prices, so it is not easy to collect information.

As for the sales status of individual condominiums, it is difficult to go back and check because the sales company's website will be closed once the sale is completed.

However, at the time of sale in 2015, this condominium was featured as a "notable property" in Tokyo by a specialized magazine.

According to it, the popularity ranking before sales is 5th.

It is said that the number of requests for materials has risen to nearly 3,000 for 92 rooms.

It seems that it was a very popular property.

The next thing I found was a sales advertisement for the condominium at that time.

"Politicians, business people, and literary masters will soon have a total of 92 residences in Bancho, which has attracted people since ancient times in Edo

.

"

A catch phrase that seems to be very luxurious.

When I was looking for some hints, I found a small description in the corner of the ad.

"Including 3 dwelling units for business cooperators"

Is it a room for people who cooperated with the condominium business?

Upon examination, it seems that it refers to the room that is preferentially provided to the landowner of the land where the condominium was built.

It is common to have a room provided instead of the purchase price of the land, which is called "equivalent exchange", and it is said that it is distinguished from the normal sales route in advance.

But if the room was owned by the ward mayor and was not the landowner ...

Such a thing came to my mind, but it was not announced which room the "business collaborator dwelling unit" was, and no further information could be obtained.

"Business cooperator dwelling unit" that the landowner does not know

If it has not been announced, you have to look it up on your own.

First of all, I decided to talk to the landowner who would know the situation.

Looking at the registry, there were originally office buildings on the land of Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, where the condominium was built, and there were multiple landowners, including corporations.

There is no name of the mayor or his family in it.

When I visited each person one by one, relying on the information in the registry, and asked about the circumstances at that time, the answer was surprising.

"We have not received the housing unit of the business collaborator. I did not even know that it existed in the first place."

All the landowners who responded to the interview sold the land in cash, and since then they have no relationship with the condominium. was.

In other words, it was not a room prepared for the landowner.

Provided to people other than landowners?

Then, for whom and how was the business collaborator dwelling unit prepared?

I asked some of the owners of the condominium, but no one knew.

Meanwhile, a real estate agent responded to the interview.

According to the person concerned, there are cases where rooms that are not generally sold are provided to non-landowners.

Real estate officials

"Good customers such as wealthy people, so-called VIPs. If these people decide to buy a room in advance, some sales companies will prepare rooms that are not generally sold. Hopefully it will be a lottery. Since there is a risk that we will not be able to provide rooms, we will treat them as "non-sale" in advance in the form of business cooperator dwelling units. "

If this is the case, it is no wonder that the mayor, who is not the landowner, owns the business cooperator's dwelling unit.

In addition, another real estate official said, "The business cooperator's dwelling unit must be open to the public at the initial stage of sales."

Anyone who visits the model room is likely to see it at least at the venue.

From there, the search for visitors to the model room began.

Finally get "evidence material"

However, this "searching for visitors" was more difficult than I expected.

Only the sales company knows the visitor's information, and there is no record that a third party can trace.

I also searched on SNS for the post of the purchase applicant at that time, but unfortunately I could not find it.

I also interviewed people who make visiting condominiums their lifework, but I couldn't get any clues.

Is there no choice but to interview the ward mayor or the sales company directly without any evidence?

When I was about to give up, I got an important document from a person concerned.

It is called the "planned price list" of the condominium owned by the ward mayor created by the sales company.

All room prices, floor plans and areas are listed.

It can be seen in model rooms, etc., and it is said that it will be used as a reference when the purchase applicant decides which room to apply for.

When I saw the planned price list, I immediately jumped into the words "Business cooperator dwelling unit" displayed in the three rooms.

When I check the room number, I'm afraid ...

After all, one of these rooms was exactly owned by the Mayor and his family.

NHK reported this issue for the first time in March this year after other supporting interviews.

The Chiyoda Ward Council also decided to set up a "Hyakujo Committee" with strong investigative powers and proceed with the investigation, saying that it is necessary to clarify the details.

What is the "secret situation" that the sales company talked about?

At the Hyakujo Committee, the circumstances leading up to the purchase at that time were clarified from the materials submitted by the sales company Mitsui Fudosan Residential.

The points are as follows:

▽ Business cooperator dwelling unit refers to a room provided to customers including landowners.

It is distinguished from general sales and is not subject to lottery.

▽ Before the sale of the condominium, there was a request for materials in the name of Mayor Ishikawa.

▽ After that, the ward mayor's wife and second son visited the model room and told the person in charge of the desired type of room in advance.

▽ In addition, the ward mayor's wife called the sales office manager and communicated his intention to purchase.

▽ In response to this, the managers in charge of Mitsui Fudosan Residential at that time discussed and decided to make the desired room a business cooperator's dwelling unit.

▽ After that, I told my family that I could buy it without lottery before the general sale started.

Why was such a "special" response taken?

On October 26, an officer of Mitsui Fudosan Residential, who was the director in charge at the time, was called by the Hyakujo Committee as a witness.

The officer said, "In addition to feeling a strong desire to purchase, I thought that the ward mayor had purchased another property in the past and there was no financial problem. It was a decision on sales strategy." explained.

Mayor Ishikawa once owned a room with his family in another tower condominium in Chiyoda Ward sold by Mitsui Fudosan Residential.

It was sold three years ago, and according to asset reports, it is estimated that it made a resale profit of about 70 million yen.

From such a background, it is said that this time it was treated as a good customer.

However, the height restrictions on the apartment in question have been relaxed with the permission of the ward.

If you want to give permission, give preferential treatment to the "parties" as good customers ... Is this all right?

Regarding this, the officer insisted, "I received permission according to the procedure, and I do not think that there was any special convenience from the ward mayor. Also, the provision of the business cooperator's dwelling unit does not correspond to the provision of convenience."

On the other hand, Mayor Ishikawa responded to the survey so far by saying, "The purchase procedure is done by the family, and I do not know the details." "After this matter was reported, I confirmed with the sales company through an acquaintance, but at that time it was called a business collaborator dwelling unit. There was no clear explanation. "

However, the Chiyoda Ward Council filed a criminal accusation with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion of perjury, alleging that the sales company had not been inquired and that the ward mayor had given false testimony.

We will continue to investigate the background of the purchase.

Is the paper company also a "special customer"?

In this interview, it became clear that it will be provided to people other than landowners.

According to housing critic Yukio Sakurai, these rooms began to stand out five or six years before the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were decided and land prices in the city center rose.

The number of applicants for purchase has increased, some properties cannot be purchased without lottery, and the number of wealthy people who purchase multiple properties has increased, which has expanded the movement to give preferential treatment to customers other than landowners. is.

So, I also investigated other cases of other luxury condominiums.

Most of them were landowners, but there were also many cases where they were owned by corporations such as real estate companies.

Meanwhile, I found an interesting property in a prime location in Minato-ku, Tokyo.

A 44-story tower apartment above the ground.

It is a super luxury property with a maximum price of 1.5 billion yen per room.

I found out that there are more than 30 dwelling units for business cooperators, and when I took the registry and looked it up ...

The owners of three of these rooms were corporations in the British Virgin Islands, known as so-called tax havens.

Looking at the address, two of the three corporations are "PO Boxes".

In other words, it is a paper company that does not have an office.

As the name implies, tax havens are countries and regions that are attracting funds from companies and the wealthy by significantly lowering tax rates.

It has also been pointed out that corporations established in such countries are highly anonymous and cannot be fully taxed.

What does such a corporation mean as a "special customer"?

Mitsui Fudosan, the parent company of the sales company, commented to the interview that "We cannot disclose the attributes of the customer and the circumstances of the transaction because we have a duty of confidentiality. We are conducting proper transactions after confirming the purpose of purchase." I will.

This condominium is a popular property that was said to have a maximum lottery rate of 18 times when it was sold.

If a paper company whose true owner is unknown was preferentially purchasing a room while many people were out of the lottery ...

Of course, it may not be possible to say that there is a problem with private sector transactions.

However, condominiums are a once-in-a-lifetime purchase for many people, and have a great impact on their subsequent life planning.

I think the real estate industry needs to make efforts to increase the transparency of transactions.

I felt that way through the interview.

Expert "Please explain the background firmly"

Finally, we talked to experts about the current situation regarding condominium sales.

Professor Akio Yamanome of Waseda University Graduate School, who is familiar with real estate transactions, said that sales are based on free economic activities in principle, and points out as follows.

Professor Yamanome

"From the perspective that urban development must be done fairly, if a public person who has the authority to influence the construction of an apartment receives priority provision of a room, explain the background and circumstances firmly. It must be done, and it is not allowed to omit it. In order to prevent the adhesion between the public and private sectors, it is possible to consider setting certain restrictions on such cases. Also, the sales company side also has a business collaborator dwelling unit. It is necessary to make efforts to gain the understanding of residents and consumers, such as clearly stating what kind of people the room will be provided to. "

Housing and urban development that are closely related to our lives.

Behind the scenes, I would like to continue interviewing and explore issues to see if there are any situations that could distort fairness.

Social Affairs Department Reporter

Tomomitsu Fujimoto

Social Affairs Department Reporter

Masashi Toyoda