>It also implies that when a house reaches 22 years it is instantly knocked down and rebuilt, which is not true. Yes, this is an annoyingly common misconceptio

>It also implies that when a house reaches 22 years it is instantly knocked down and rebuilt, which is not true. Yes, this is an annoyingly common misconception about Japanese housing. Just walking around a few random residential neighborhoods in Tokyo should disabuse anyone of the notion that homes here are all knocked down after a mere 22 years. Buying secondhand homes here (whether stand-alone homes or condos) is very, very common. Misinformed articles like this are too common in western press.