After the crash of the 1990s—where Japanese buyers lost billions on US real estate—few would have expected the Japanese to return on a grand scale. Yet, in the last 12 months, Japanese real estate companies have bought $1.5B of property in NYC, ranking fourth in office space behind the Chinese.

Some of the major Japanese deals include Unizo Holdings' $247M purchase of 370 Lexington Ave, a $210M purchase of two office buildings north of Madison Square Park and Tokyu Land’s stake in 425 Park Ave.

The Mitsui Fudosan Group—one of the few Japanese investors that stayed behind after the crash—has ramped up activity in the city, as well, with a $258M purchase of a 90% stake in the 55 Hudson Yards office tower and a majority stake in 525 W 52nd St, a 392-unit rental development from Taconic Investment Partners.

Even Mitsubishi—which purchased Rockefeller Center (pictured) and the Rockefeller Group—is planning a number of ground-up projects in New York and New Jersey. President Atsushi Nakajima says the firm will renovate its office towers at 1221 and 1271 Sixth Ave and is developing a five-acre mixed-use project in Flushing, Queens, known as Flushing Commons. [WSJ]