At the moment, the economy here is not strong. Businesses continue to struggle to hold even, exports are down, individual investment in the stock market is somewhere south of 5%, unemployment is rising and the banks are drowning in a sea of bad loans that they are not being forced to eliminate. In fact, they continue to be allowed to make them. Wages are down, confidence is non-existent, and prices are rising. There is a surplus of factory space as manufacturing jobs move east to China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. And there is a surplus of office space as companies are continuing to cut back on hiring and increase layoffs.

Yet for some reason, Tokyo is in the midst of a construction boom. There has been a surge in the construction of new high rise office and apartment tower complexes. Real estate companies can not fill existing office space, yet newer and more luxurious and expensive properties are continuing to be completed on what seems to be a daily basis.

How the hell is this possible? What could compel a bank officer to make a loan to a man who seemingly could not raise the funds to repay?. Everyone who has an opinion on this seems to agree that banks need to stop making bad loans, eliminate their unrecoverable investments, and start down a road of Spartan reforms if they ever hope to recover their stability and strength. But all these new projects feel like they were approved in a time warp to 1987.

This goes beyond the organizational culture of glacial resistance to change, and it seems too big and too widespread to be a pork barrel blessing to the construction industry. It's like some sick addiction to physical reconstruction. Barring designated historical landmarks, temples, and parks, I have never seen a area of Japan that was not within a three year window for construction. Any neighborhood, district, zone or region is either scheduled for, in the midst of, or proud to have finished building something within three years. Is the physical reconstruction of the 1950's and 60's so heavily stamped on the national psyche? Is the perceived connection between rebuilding and impending prosperity that strong?

Why the hell are they doing this?