If the stats in WildUtah&#x27;s comment are to be believed -and his anecdotes mesh with my understanding of how zoning works in JP-, then Tokyo <i>has</i> pretty well solved the &quot;response to housing demand&quot; issue.<p>Housing prices in cities are <i>going</i> to be more expensive than housing prices in the countryside. They <i>shouldn&#x27;t</i> be so expensive that they exclude families and middle-to-lower-income households.