Those numbers are incredible. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that a lot of what we're talking about when we say "Columbus" is suburbs. And the plant Intel is building is even in a different county.

That's fair, and Japanese apartments also tend to be smaller, for sure.

Nevertheless, Tokyo is a metro of 40 million people, with national importance that's equivalent to slamming NYC, LA, and SF together into one region. That its rent has managed to stay this low is a result of zoning that's practically the opposite of the US: density by default, rather than density as exception.