Japan Awakening to a Logistical Nightmare

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TOKYO-If any place could use more storage space, it would be this archipelago, and not just by being the most land constrained and densely populated country of the industrialized world. According to a new report from ProLogis, numerous other factors have created Japan’s vastly undersupplied warehouse/distribution network, one struggling to keep up with the resurgent economy but a sector ripe with opportunities for third-party developers to address the crisis.

“Looking ahead, Japan’s logistics property network would appear to have substantial room for growth,” according to the 20-page review, which was authored by Leonard Sahling of ProLogis and John Tofflemire, president of Sapient Real Estate Consulting in Tokyo. ProLogis is among a handful of firms that has built for-lease space in Japan, having completed 19 properties encompassing 10.5 million sf with another 5.7 million sf under way, all since its initial foray in 2002. The space is 100% leased, ProLogis says.