The Exodus of China’s Wealthy to Japan


对中国专制政治制度的不满以及经济放缓助推了这波移民潮，这些移民帮助提振了东京的高端房地产市场。


Tomo Hayashi，摄于他位于东京的家中。

去年，作为一家金属贸易公司老板的中国人Tomo Hayashi搬到了东京。他很快取了一个日本名字，花了约合65万美元购入一套滨水豪华公寓，今年3月他的家人也来到这里与他团聚。 6park.com
Last year, China native Tomo Hayashi, the owner of a metals-trading firm, moved to Tokyo. He quickly adopted a Japanese name, spent the equivalent of about $650,000 on a luxury waterfront condo and, in March, brought his family to join him. 6park.com
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许多中国富豪正在推动东京高端房产热潮并重塑东京的城市形象，45岁的Hayashi就是其中之一，他的两个儿子刚开始就读于日本一所小学。 6park.com
The 45-year-old, whose two boys just started in a Japanese elementary school, is one of the many wealthy Chinese driving a boom in high-end Tokyo properties and reshaping the city. 6park.com
  
据房产经纪人和其他关注这波移民潮的人士称，对中国政府专制政治制度的不满在新冠疫情时期的突然封控中爆发，此后不满情绪有增无减，助推了这波移民潮。这些人士称，中国经济放缓和股市的低迷也在促使富人离开中国。 6park.com
Frustrations with Beijing’s autocratic political system, which flared during abrupt pandemic-era lockdowns and have only grown since then, have helped drive the wave, according to real-estate agents and others watching the exodus. China’s economic slowdown and its struggling stock market are also motivating wealthy people to leave the country, they say. 6park.com
  
和许多中国买家一样，Hayashi避谈国内政治，他说举家搬到东京是个挑战。“但我们喜欢日本，喜欢这里的美食、文化、教育和安全，”Hayashi说。 6park.com
Hayashi, who like many Chinese buyers avoids discussing politics back home, said the move to Tokyo was a challenge. “But we like Japan—food, culture, education and safety,” he said. 6park.com
 
日本并不是中国人寻求移民备选方案的唯一避风港。美国、加拿大和新加坡都在吸引中国移民的国家之列，而香港居民则经常前往英国。 6park.com
Japan isn’t the only haven for Chinese people seeking a Plan B. The U.S., Canada and Singapore are among the countries drawing Chinese migrants, while Hong Kong residents often head to the U.K. 6park.com
  
但对于经济条件较好的中国人来说，距离中国仅几小时航程的日本一些城市是他们的首选目的地。由于日圆疲软，日本的房价对外国人来说较低，他们很容易购买房产。而且日本的书写系统部分使用汉字，因此新移民可以更容易地自己找到路。 6park.com
But Japanese cities that are just a few hours’ flight from China are a leading choice for better-off Chinese people. Japan’s real-estate prices are low for foreigners thanks to the weak yen and it is fairly easy for them to purchase property. And the Japanese writing system uses Chinese characters in part, so new arrivals can more easily find their way around. 6park.com
 
跟踪全球移民趋势的Henley & Partners去年6月发布的一份报告估计，这一年中国高净值人士移居海外的净总数将为13,500名，使中国成为全球高净值人口流失最严重的国家。 6park.com
A report last June by Henley & Partners that tracks worldwide migration trends estimated that a net total of 13,500 high-net-worth Chinese people would migrate overseas during the year, making China the biggest worldwide loser in that category.


这家位于东京的川菜馆深受住在附近住宅楼的中国人的喜爱。

截至去年年底，日本约有82.2万名中国居民，比前一年增加了6万人，是近年来的最大增幅。 6park.com
Japan had about 822,000 Chinese residents as of the end of last year, up 60,000 from the previous year in the biggest jump in recent years. 6park.com
  
东京房地产经纪人Osamu Orihara是一名出生在中国的归化日本公民，他说，与新冠疫情暴发之前的2019年相比，他的收入增长了两三倍，这在很大程度上是受中国买家的推动。 6park.com
Tokyo real-estate broker Osamu Orihara, a naturalized Japanese citizen who was born in China, said his revenue has tripled or quadrupled compared with 2019 before the pandemic, driven in large part by Chinese buyers. 6park.com
 
Orihara说，与过去不同的是，想要获得长期签证的人更多了。 6park.com
“What is different from the past is there are more who want to get a long-term visa,” Orihara said. 6park.com
 
根据不动产记录，在Hayashi所居住的48层大楼中，约有三分之一的公寓房主是拥有中国名字的个人或其代表拥有中国名字的公司。东京湾附近是高层公寓林立的街区，这里的人说，一般的大楼都有四分之一或更多的中国居民。 6park.com
About one-third of the condos on the floor of the 48-story building where Hayashi lives are owned by individuals with Chinese names or companies whose representatives have Chinese names, according to real-estate records. People in the neighborhood next to Tokyo Bay, a forest of high-rise condominiums, say the typical building has a quarter or more Chinese residents. 6park.com
 
Hayashi说是一位中国朋友推荐了这栋楼。他离开家乡中国深圳后曾短暂居住在香港，他说与香港相比这个650平方英尺的两居室住房的价格合理，并说其价值已经上涨了约10%至15%。 6park.com
Hayashi said a Chinese friend recommended the building. He described the price for the 650-square-foot, two-bedroom unit as reasonable compared with Hong Kong, where he briefly lived after leaving his hometown of Shenzhen, China, and he said the value has already gone up by some 10% to 15%. 6park.com
 
据行业数据显示，去年东京市中心新公寓的平均价格上涨了近40%，涨至相当于约74万美元。市场观察人士说，这样的涨幅是受到大量新房产吸引中国富裕买家的影响，这些买家担心本国市场急剧下滑。 6park.com
The average price for new apartments in central Tokyo was up nearly 40% last year to the equivalent of about $740,000, according to industry figures. The rise was influenced by a flood of new properties appealing to affluent Chinese buyers who are concerned about a steep slump in their own market, market watchers say.


Tomo Hayashi在东京的家中辅导儿子们。


Tomo Hayashi的儿子们最近在日本开始上小学。

经纪人说，中国买家也热衷于购买度假房产。在北海道北部岛屿，靠近滑雪场的城镇富良野去年的住宅地价上涨了28%，涨幅居全日本之首。当地经纪人Hideyuki Ishii说，来自中国大陆、香港和新加坡的中国高净值人群正在寻找度假住宅。 6park.com
Brokers said Chinese buyers were also eager to buy resort properties. On the northern island of Hokkaido, a town named Furano that is near ski slopes saw residential land prices rise 28% last year, the fastest rate nationwide. Hideyuki Ishii, a local broker, said wealthy Chinese from the mainland, Hong Kong and Singapore were looking for vacation homes. 6park.com
 
他说：“一场挂着中国旗的红色海啸即将来临。” 6park.com
“A red tsunami is coming with the Chinese flag in tow,” he said.



想搬到日本并购买公寓或房子的中国人通常面临两个挑战：把钱带到日本和获得签证。 6park.com
Chinese people who want to move to Japan and buy an apartment or house generally face two challenges: getting their money into Japan and getting a visa. 6park.com
 
中国对居民能带出境的资金额度有限制，但很多中国买家都有具有国际业务或海外投资的公司。经纪人Orihara说，他的客户通常在香港或新加坡有银行账户，可以向外汇钱。 6park.com
China restricts how much its residents can take out of the country, but many Chinese buyers own companies with international operations or have overseas investments. Orihara, the broker, said his clients usually have a bank account in Hong Kong or Singapore from which they can wire money. 6park.com
 
他说，有一个客户是例外，买了一套价值19万美元的房产，并动员亲友在几个月内一点一点地带现金。 6park.com
One exception, he said, was a client who bought a $190,000 property and mobilized friends and relatives to carry cash little by little over a few months. 6park.com
 
至于签证，如果在日本企业投资至少相当于3.2万美元，且该企业有固定办公室和两名或两名以上员工，就可以获得企业管理签证。 6park.com
As for the visa, people who invest the equivalent of at least $32,000 in a Japanese business that has a permanent office and two or more employees can get a business-management visa. 6park.com
 
其他中国人获得的签证是日本发放给商业、技术或学术领域高级专家的签证。2019年至2023年间，持有技术类（软件工程师等）签证的中国人数量增加了30%，达到1万多人。根据倾向于高薪和高学历人才的一项计分制度，此类签证的持有人最快可在一年内申请日本永久居留权。 6park.com
Other Chinese obtain a visa for what Japan describes as high-level specialists in business, technology or academia. The number of Chinese with the technology version—software engineers and the like—rose 30% between 2019 and 2023 to more than 10,000. Holders can apply for permanent residency in Japan in as little as one year under a point system that favors those with high salaries and advanced degrees. 6park.com
 
来自中国的东京签证顾问Wang Yun说，他的大多数客户都是中国人，通常是来自上海或北京等大城市的企业主或企业高管，年龄在快40岁到50来岁之间。 6park.com
Tokyo visa consultant Wang Yun, who is originally from China, said most of his clients were Chinese, often business owners or corporate executives in their late 30s to 50s from big cities such as Shanghai or Beijing. 6park.com
 
定居后，许多中国人选择使用日本名字，包括在日本的法律记录中。有些人使用他们中文名字的日语读音，有些人则重新起名。 6park.com
Once settled, many Chinese opt to use a Japanese name, including on legal records in Japan. Some turn to Japanese readings of their name’s Chinese characters, while others pick an entirely new name. 6park.com
 
除了方便与日本人打交道外，使用日语名字还能让有中国血统的人在国内保持低调，他们在国内通常还有家人。这可能会有所帮助，因为中国当局往往不喜欢人们带着资产移居国外的趋势。 6park.com
In addition to convenience when dealing with Japanese people, using a Japanese name allows people of Chinese origin to keep a lower profile back home, where they typically still have family. That may be helpful because Chinese authorities tend to frown on the trend of people moving out with their assets. 6park.com
 
微博、小红书和微信等流行的中国社交媒体平台上充斥着在日本购买房产的话题。这些平台上会进行一些审查：微博以政府规定为由，不显示搜索#中国投资客涌入东京买房#的话题内容，但用户可以不带标签符号搜索这个主题。 6park.com
Popular Chinese social-media platforms such as Weibo, Little Red Book and WeChat buzz with talk of purchasing real estate in Japan. There is some censorship: Citing government regulations, Weibo blocks searches using a hashtag that translates as “Chinese investors are flooding into Tokyo to buy houses,” though users can search for that subject without the hashtag symbol. 6park.com
 
另一位出身于中国的东京经纪人Satoyoshi Mizugami说，他希望在五年内将员工人数增加两倍，达到300人，以处理来自中国买家的所有新业务。他说，为了给这些员工提供办公地点，一栋新的办公楼正在建设中。 6park.com
Satoyoshi Mizugami, another broker in Tokyo with roots in China, said he hoped to triple his staff to 300 people in five years to handle all the new business from Chinese buyers. A new office building is under construction to accommodate them, he said.


在东京滨水区域矗立的高层公寓楼。

Mizugami的客户中有一位42岁的中国男子，他在英国接受教育，并在中国和美国有餐馆生意。新冠疫情发生后，他一直住在中国，当他决定离开时，他选择了日本，因为他认为日本的商业环境比美国好。去年，他用卖掉美国生意的钱在东京市中心买了一套公寓。 6park.com
One of Mizugami’s clients is a 42-year-old Chinese man who was educated in the U.K. and started a restaurant business in China and the U.S. He had been living in China since the pandemic and, when he decided to leave, chose Japan because he thought the business environment was better than that of the U.S. Last year, he bought an apartment in central Tokyo, using the money from selling his U.S. business. 6park.com
 
这位买家说，他将在日本开一家食品贸易公司，并申请签证与他的美籍华人妻子和他们4岁的儿子一起移居日本。 6park.com
This buyer said he was opening a food-trading business in Japan and applying for a visa to move to Japan with his Chinese-American wife and their 4-year-old son. 6park.com
 
最近在东京的一个早晨，买了滨水公寓的Hayashi正忙着帮助他9岁和7岁的儿子在网上学习日语和英语，并看着他们在户外玩耍。他的妻子短暂地返回中国看望他们15岁的女儿，他们的女儿将留在中国完成高中学业。 6park.com
On a recent morning in Tokyo, Hayashi, the buyer of the waterfront condominium, was busy helping his boys, 9 and 7, learn Japanese and English online and watching them play outside. His wife had briefly returned to China to see their 15-year-old daughter, who is staying to finish high school there. 6park.com
 
Hayashi说，他打算长期留在日本。他说，日本吸引他的地方之一是高水平的医疗，他认为，等他岁数更大时这将是很有价值的。他谨慎地指出，他从去年起一直在向日本纳税。作为高级专家签证的持有者，他说希望在四五年内获得永久居留权。 6park.com
Hayashi said he intended to stick with Japan for the long haul. He said one attraction was the high level of medical care, which he expects would be valuable when he gets older. He was careful to note that he has been paying Japanese taxes since last year. As a holder of a high-level specialist visa, he said “I’d like to get permanent residency in four or five years.”