So there’s a ton of countries that I’ve heard have had truly unaffordable housing for decades, like:
- The UK
 - Ireland
 - The Netherlands
 
And I’ve heard of a ton of countries where the cost of houses was until recently quite affordable where it’s also started getting worse:
- Germany
 - Poland
 - Czechia
 - Hungary
 - The US
 - Australia
 - Canada
 - And I’m sure plenty others
 
- It seems to be a pan-Western bloc thing. Is the cause in all these countries the same?
 - We’ve heard of success stories in cities like Vienna where much of the housing stock is municipally owned – but those cities have had it that way for decades. Would their system alleviate the current crisis if established in the aforementioned countries?
 - What specific policies should I be demanding of our politicians to make housing affordable again? Is there any silver bullet? Has any country demonstrably managed to reverse this crisis yet?
 


The housing I remember in Japan was the coffin box. A little space long enough for you to lie down in, with a small cubby for items. I think it was about 30 sq. ft. and maybe 90 cu. ft.