Rising real estate prices in Tokyo are forcing young professionals to leave the city.

Financial journalist Mariko Katsumura said Japan is experiencing an investment boom that has made apartments in central Tokyo unaffordable for young professionals.

The price of new apartments in central Tokyo rose 60 percent to a record 129.6 million yen ($865,000) in the first half of this year. This has made Tokyo the second most unaffordable city in the world after Hong Kong.

The cost of an apartment in Tokyo is now 15 times the annual salary of a skilled worker, up from 10 times a decade ago.

The rise in apartment prices in central Tokyo is due in part to low mortgage interest rates, but also to the growing number of foreign investors who are buying Japanesereal estate thanks to yen weakness.

Foreigners have invested more than 1.8 trillion yen in Japanese real estate since 2019, surpassing the amounts invested by institutional investors, real estate and corporations, according to consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.

Foreign buyers, especially from Taiwan, are interested in Tokyo real estate worth more than 100 million yen for second homes, while ordinary wealthy investors are betting on apartments in the 30 million to 70 million yen price range.

Single occupancy.Mari Mochizuki's mother is also having trouble finding an apartment for her piano and possibly her cat, as large, quality apartments are either too expensive or worn out.

This situation will probably take shape in other Asian cities in the future as well, as investors look for affordable real estate in the Middle Kingdom due to the real-home crisis and geopolitical concerns.