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> This is a ridiculous article.

It is ridiculous because it presents a reality different from the US? I found it quite interesting.

It tries to make the claim that Japanese house building is for some reason superior when in reality its just shoddy construction turning an appreciating asset into a depreciating one. If the house value stays flat then that's unusual, they usually lose value over time.

It's not inferior. It has to adhere to different constraints than houses in the US or Germany.

They chose to not do the insulation/heating part because of earthquakes.

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