JAPAN DATA: Demand for office space in Tokyo worsened for two months in
a row in August. Central Tokyo office vacancy ratio (vacant office space
divided by available space) fell to 9.17% at end-August, after 9.30% in
July and record 9.43% in June, data from real estate firm Miki Shoji
showed. The average office rent per 3.3 square meters in central Tokyo
wards, which tends to follow Tokyo’s office vacancy ratio with a
six-month lag, stood at Y16,733, down for two months in a row, after
Y16,741 in July. Economists are unsure when vacancy will hit bottom, as
office space totaling 1.65 million square meters is estimated to be
added in 2012, about double the new supply in 2011.