Tokyo Office Market 2026: A Landlord's Market
Vacancy is below 1%, rents are rising, and companies are finding fewer offices to choose from.
Last updated: October 2026
For companies looking for office space in Tokyo, the market has changed significantly over the past year.
Vacancy is now extremely low, rents continue to rise, and available space in many of Tokyo's central office buildings is becoming increasingly difficult to secure.
For landlords, this is a favorable environment.
For companies looking for an office, it means that timing matters more than it did a few years ago.
Tokyo Office Market 2026: Vacancy Falls Below 1
According to Nomura Real Estate Solutions, the vacancy rate for large office buildings across Tokyo's five central wards fell to 0.96% at the end of August 2026.
That is the first time the rate has fallen below 1% since September 2020.
At the same time, asking rents have increased for 10 consecutive months.
The combination is significant: demand remains strong while the amount of immediately available space is limited.
For companies searching for an office, this can create a very different experience from simply browsing online listings.
A property may look attractive on paper, but by the time a company is ready to make a decision, the space may already have been taken.
Grade A offices are becoming particularly expensive
The situation is even more pronounced at the top end of the market.
JLL recorded a 0.8% vacancy rate for Tokyo Grade A offices in Q2 2026.
Average monthly gross rent reached ¥42,109 per tsubo, up 16.4% year-on-year and 4.6% quarter-on-quarter.
For reference, ¥42,109 per tsubo is approximately ¥12,700 per square metre per month.
This doesn't mean that every Grade A office in Tokyo costs ¥42,109 per tsubo. The figure is an average across JLL's Grade A market definition.
But it illustrates the direction of travel.
Prime office space is becoming significantly more expensive.
Other market data points in the same direction
CBRE's Q2 2026 data shows an All-Grade vacancy rate of 1.4% in Tokyo, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous quarter.
At the same time, Grade A rents increased 4.3% quarter-on-quarter, while Grade A- rents increased 4.7%. CBRE notes that demand has been supported by office upgrades, expansion relocations and companies increasing their space within existing buildings.
Different research firms use different methodologies and market definitions, so their vacancy rates should not be compared as if they were measuring exactly the same group of buildings.
What they do show consistently is the broader trend:
Tokyo's office market is tight, and rents are moving upward.
What does this mean for foreign companies?
For a company establishing its first office in Japan, the biggest issue may not actually be the rent. It is availability.
A company might have a clear budget, preferred location and list of requirements, but discover that very few properties satisfy all three.
This is particularly relevant when the company needs:
a central Tokyo location;
a certain minimum floor area;
good access to major train stations;
a modern building;
specific building standards;
signage;
meeting rooms;
expansion capacity;
or a particular move-in date.
The more requirements a company has, the smaller the pool of suitable properties becomes.
And when the market is tight, waiting for the perfect office can mean losing several good alternatives.
The cost of waiting is changing
There is another consequence that is easy to overlook.
When rents are rising, delaying an office search doesn't necessarily mean that a company will find a cheaper option later.
It can mean: fewer choices + higher rents + longer negotiations.
Colliers also reports that extremely limited availability is making it difficult for occupiers to secure properties that meet their requirements. It notes that rising fit-out costs and longer construction timelines are adding further pressure, with some relocations taking more than a year from lease execution to completion.
For an international company planning a Japan launch, this makes the timeline of the real-estate project part of the business plan, rather than something to deal with after the company has been established.
Should companies rush to sign?
Not necessarily. A tight market does not mean that every available office is a good office.
Companies still need to consider:
total occupancy cost;
lease conditions;
security deposit;
fit-out requirements;
restoration obligations;
building specifications;
accessibility;
employee commuting;
future expansion;
and the timing of the move.
The objective is not simply to find an available office.
It is to find the right office before the available options become too limited.
What we are watching at Tokyo Immo
The current market makes one thing particularly important for companies entering Japan: start the office search earlier.
The search should ideally begin while the company is still defining its requirements, rather than once every other aspect of the Japan launch has already been decided.
Understanding the market early allows a company to answer practical questions before committing to a location:
What can we get for our budget?
Which areas offer the right balance between rent and accessibility?
How much space do we actually need?
How long could the fit-out take?
What compromises would we have to make if our preferred building is unavailable?
These questions are increasingly important in a market where good office space is becoming harder to secure.
The Tokyo office market in one sentence
Tokyo remains a strong market for office demand, but companies are now operating in an environment where good space is scarce and increasingly expensive.
For landlords, the current balance of supply and demand is favorable.
For occupiers, preparation and timing are becoming increasingly important.
Sources
Nomura Real Estate Solutions — Tokyo Office Market Report, September 2026
JLL — Tokyo Office Market, Q2 2026
CBRE — Japan Office MarketView, Q2 2026
Colliers — Tokyo Office Market Review and Outlook, Q2 2026
