You can’t compare Tokyo and Bay Area mortgages this way as interests rates in Japan are still remarkably low and citizens of Japan are able to obtain favorable

You can’t compare Tokyo and Bay Area mortgages this way as interests rates in Japan are still remarkably low and citizens of Japan are able to obtain favorable term, zero money down mortgages fairly easily (assuming they’re salaried workers). Nothing like this is available in the US. Likewise, rental costs in Tokyo are far cheaper than the Bay Area and Tokyo has stronger renter protections. From the perspective of housing (and myriad other things, like public transit), it’s much better to be a median income worker in Tokyo than the Bay. Australia, however, is it’s own special variety of fucked.