Fwiw, I don't think housing is as messed up in Japan as in the United States. I'm far from an expert but in general it's cheaper and closer to the reasonable cost of living on what jobs pay. There's even dirt cheap houses in the country, provided you can find work or have enough capital to make your own work.
US housing is fucked, thanks to real estate speculators and stagnant wages. There are more empty luxury apartments than there are unhoused people, but we refuse to house them if it's unprofitable.