In the immediate postwar period, Japan faced a housing shortage of 4.2 million units. The government implemented emergency measures, including the construction of temporary housing. The economy subsequently began to recover, however, and by the early 1950s it was apparent that Japan would need to establish systems to supply permanent housing.

In 1950, Government Housing Loan Corporation (GHLC, now Japan Housing Finance Agency) was established to provide long-term, low-interest finance for the construction or purchase of houses. “The Publicly-Operated Housing Act” of 1951 enabled the central government to provide subsidies to allow local governments to supply low-rent housing (publicly-operated housing). In 1955, Japan Housing Corporation (JHC, now Urban Renaissance Agency) was established to overcome a housing shortage resulting from an influx of people into Japan’s major cities, by supplying housing and land for housing to working people. These three measures were the foundation of what is now known as the “publicly funded housing supply system.”