Part of it was regulation where properties will lose value over time, and after 30 years it is considered worthless. The value of the land may have gone up in price if you live somewhere desirable like Tokyo but the building that sits on it is considered worthless, possibly of negative value even as it costs around 1 million yen (10kUSD) to knock it down.

This was intended to promote new construction of housing, the unintended consequences is that homes are thus not built to last and home maintenance is rarely performed.

Though in recent years, there has a been a slight boom of people purchasing second homes to renovate rather than build new.

> Doomed from the moment construction begins, the average Japanese home depreciates from Day 1 — losing half its value in 10 years and becoming almost entirely worthless in 25. This depreciation comes hand in hand with the infamous mantra that a Japanese home is limited to a lifespan of 30 years and causes somewhat of a chicken-and-egg conundrum.

[0]: https://www.rethinktokyo.com/2018/06/06/depreciate-limited-l...

[1]: https://www.rethinktokyo.com/faq-secondhand-homes-renovation...