I don't know about Japanese house inspection culture, but their car inspection system is designed to keep only new cars on the road. Essentially a stealth tax

I don't know about Japanese house inspection culture, but their car inspection system is designed to keep only new cars on the road. Essentially a stealth tax to discourage driving. So if your car fails inspection, which costs about $1000 just to attempt, you may as well part it out to Americans and buy another car... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor-vehicle_inspection_(Japan) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor-vehicle_inspection_(Japa... Its possible given that Japanese don't like used houses that something similar exists for purchase of a used house, perhaps an inspection that costs $25K would discourage used house purchases.