As a pioneer in the affordable housing market, solving Japan's housing issues

LivEQuality Ooya Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture; CEO: Takuya Okamoto; hereinafter "the Company"), a pioneer in affordable housing focusing on households raising children, such as single-parent families who face difficulties in renting homes due to economic hardship, won 4th place at the "CATAPULT GRAND PRIX - Clash of the Titans -" pitch event held during the ICC Summit FUKUOKA 2026 on March 4th.

■ About the ICC Summit "CATAPULT GRAND PRIX"

The Industry Co-Creation® (ICC) Summit is a venue for "Learning together and creating industries together." At each summit, over 500 speakers and a total of more than 1,200 participants gather to learn from one another for the entire day.

The "CATAPULT GRAND PRIX - Clash of the Titans -" features presenters who have previously placed highly in "Catapult" events or have achieved similar levels of success. In this Fukuoka summit, 11 presenters gave 7-minute presentations, and the winners were selected by the votes of 34 judges active on the front lines of various industries.

■ Presentation Overview and Results

Our 7-min presentation title was “Solving Japan’s Housing Issues as a Pioneer in the Affordable Housing Market” including the following six main points.

1. Social issues aimed to be solved — Growing housing poverty and Japan's structural challenge

In Europe and the U.S., a massive market for affordable housing has been formed, backed by government tax incentives. In contrast, in Japan, the number of people who "want to rent but cannot" is increasing due to the decrease in public housing and skyrocketing real estate prices. Single-mother households, in particular, face structural challenges where failing to secure an address prevents them from accessing government support or employment.

2. Business Overview — Japanese Affordable Housing

The Company is promoting a Japanese affordable housing business to solve this issue through business. Primarily targeting single-mother households, we provide 30% of our owned properties at rents approximately 30% lower than the market rate. Furthermore, by combining this with social and community support provided by our nonprofit organization, LivEQuality HUB has developed a model that integrates housing with connection.

3. Innovation in the Business Model

(1) Business Model Innovation

By collaborating with the government and NPOs, we have established a system for continuous tenant referrals. Through a system where tenants are found with zero advertising costs, occupancy rates have increased by 20%. As a result, the model maintains high occupancy rates precisely because it is affordable, leading to an increase in total profits.

(2) Financial Innovation

We developed a unique fundraising method (Impact Bonds) with the following terms:

• Yield: 0.1%

• Repayment period: 20 years

• Minimum investment: 10 million yen per unit
  Together with loans, we have successfully raised a cumulative total of 930 million yen.

4. Integrated Housing x Social Connections Model

By designing both "housing" and “social connections", we have achieved:

• Rent collection rate: 100%

• Zero arrears

• Employment rate after moving in: 80%

5. Evolution to the Growth Phase

The goal of 10 billion yen scale in 5 years, which was set when we won the Social Good Catapult at ICC KYOTO 2024, was achieved in just one and a half years.

■ Collaboration with Financial Institutions

Together with the Resona Group, we formed Japan’s first affordable housing fund (1 billion yen).

Press Release: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000011.000122624.html

■ Development into Public-Private Partnerships

The formation of a public-private partnership fund, in which the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will invest 10 billion yen, has now been decided. This project plans a fund exceeding 20 billion yen in total, including private capital. Our company will serve as a co-GP under a consortium structure with two major corporations.

Press Release: https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000014.000122624.html

In this way, our business model has evolved from a social business into a real estate fund business that balances social impact and economic viability.

6. Future Outlook: Make Changes As the Market Leader

Our goal is to realize a society where everyone can live in their own way. By 2035, we aim to create an affordable housing market worth approximately 7 trillion yen, representing 10% of Japan’s rental housing market. As a market leader, we will pave the way for the future of Japanese housing with a model that balances sociality and profitability.

▼ Watch the presentation pitch video

(LivEQuality Ooya’s presentation starts at 1:36:52)

About LivEQuality Ooya

LivEQuality Ooya Co., Ltd. provides affordable, comfortable housing and social connections to those experiencing housing insecurity. We operate "Japanese affordable housing" that pursues both economic and social value.

In Japan, 1.2 million single-mother households face a grueling reality, marked by a 48% relative poverty rate and an average monthly income of just 230,000 yen (appx 1,450 USD). At the heart of this crisis lies the 'housing problem.' A stable address is often a prerequisite for government support, yet without childcare, these mothers cannot work—and without steady work, they cannot pass the screening to rent a home. This negative spiral creates a systemic barrier to independence. While public housing remains highly competitive, low-cost private options are frequently dilapidated or located far from essential employment opportunities.

LivEQuality Ooya solves this by purchasing well-located urban buildings, renovating them to maintain overall profitability, and leasing a portion of the units to single mothers at below-market rates. To date, we have supported 32 households (77 people). Through clean, convenient rooms near job opportunities and tailored support, the employment rate of our residents (after six months) exceeds 80%. Through LivEQuality’s support, single mothers are carving a pathway to independence—securing employment, rebuilding their daily lives, and finalizing legal divorce proceedings.

Company Profile

• Name: LivEQuality Ooya Co., Ltd.

• Location: 1-11-3 Chitose, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture

• Established: November 2022

• Capital: 278.01 million JPY (including capital reserves)

• CEO: Takuya Okamoto

• URL:https://livequality.co.jp/ooya

Translated by Kei Eriksen, Global Partnership Manager at LivEQuality

> For inquiries regarding global partnerships or our affordable housing model, please feel free to reach out.