Investor Protection in the Real Estate Investment

―The Imperfect Fusion of Real Estate and Finance revealed by Administrative Sanction to J-REITs―

Abstract

Growth of the real estate securitization market in Japan has spurred by the adopted slogan “The Fusion of Real Estate and Finance”. The meaning behind this slogan was that real estate should be transformed into an investment asset much like stocks and bonds. The administrative sanctions that have been imposed onto J-REITs by the government, however, clearly indicate that there is a gap between the two that cannot be overcome. This gap is caused by the conceptual differences between the investor protection in the financial market and the consumer protection in the real estate market in Japan. The Coso-framework will be useful for overcoming this gap.