12/04/2026

theSunday Special VII ON SUNDAY APR 12, 2026

Driven by tourist demand, the region sees thousands of seasonal workers arrive each year, most of them foreigners. – PEXELSPIC

Locals bemoan inflated property prices and living costs Niseko faces strains of global acclaim

N ISEKO: Beneath the powder snow at internationally popular Japanese ski resort Niseko, anxiety is mounting among residents over soaring prices and a massive influx of foreign workers. At a time when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is talking tough on immigration, upscale Niseko has never been more popular with seasonal workers, investors and skiers from across the globe. The snow “is the best in the world”, said Gideon Masters, a 29-year-old Australian. “It’s just soft, powder fluff. You can pick it up with your bare hands and it doesn’t even feel cold. It’s just a shame that it’s become so populated,” he told AFP at the foot of the slopes, snowboard in hand.

products, sea urchins or Dom Perignon champagne, and vegetables have become extremely expensive,” pushing some to do their shopping in a neighbouring town. To attract staff, hotels and restaurants are raising wages, but local businesses are struggling to keep up. “In construction, paying that much is very difficult because market prices are fixed. Raising wages is a huge risk for bosses,” Saito said. “Care workers sometimes prefer jobs in hotels, which pay better, creating a risk of labour shortages in social services”, said Hasegawa. Driven by tourist demand, the region sees thousands of seasonal workers arrive each year, most of them foreigners. – AFP

“It’s thanks to the taste and sensibilities of Australians and New Zealanders that this town has grown. “They are no longer alone, with funds based in tax havens and all kinds of investors who have started pouring money in. Hollywood stars and artistes come here, and owners of multinationals are buying second homes,” he added. “All of this is driving prices up even further.” For residents, inflated property prices and living costs are leaving a bitter taste. “Land is being sold at prices that are no longer affordable for locals,” said 42-year-old Masatoshi Saito, who runs a painting company. “In the supermarket, you find luxury

Built in the 1960s on the northern island of Hokkaido, the resort began attracting foreigners, mainly Australians, in the 1990s and became a popular destination after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 for those wanting to avoid the United States. They gradually opened more shops and acquired property, and were later joined by Asian investors from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, among others, pushing land prices ever higher. In Hirafu, one of the four resorts that make up Niseko, land prices jumped 70% between 2020 and 2025. “If ski resorts in Japan had stayed the way they used to be, they would never have gained worldwide renown,” said Hiroshi Hasegawa, director of a local real estate agency.

Sacred leaf taboo used to protect forests MATANTAS: The feather-shaped namele leaf is so central to Vanuatu it features on the national flag, and now it is being enlisted to protect some of the country’s most important forests. placed somewhere, people know not to touch anything nearby. Tavue comes from Matantas, a small village on the north coast of Espiritu Santo, one of the more than 80 islands that make up the Vanuatu archipelago.

By invoking a traditional taboo against touching the sacred leaf, conservationists and locals hope to keep loggers away from places like the Vatthe Conservation Area, a candidate for Unesco World Heritage status. Located on Vanuatu’s largest island Espiritu Santo, Vatthe is home to astonishing biodiversity, hosting over two-thirds of the South Pacific archipelago’s land and freshwater birds and many of its endemic species. However, just a single ranger, traditional chief Bill Tavue, patrols the 2,720-hectare site, whose name means “estuary” in the local Na language. Lack of funding for conservation projects, disregard for government regulations and the need to clear land for farming means that logging is common, making Tavue’s battle to protect the forest all the harder. He expressed hope that the glossy green leaf of the namele , which resembles a small palm, could help him protect what remains. The plant, known to science by the botanical name cycas seemannii , grows across the western Pacific region, but holds particular significance in Vanuatu. “In our culture, no one is allowed to touch the namele , only the moli ,” Tavue said, using a local word for chieftain. He explained that when a namele leaf is

When Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandez de Quiros landed there in 1606, he believed he had discovered the fabled “Great Southern Land”. In those days, Vanuatu’s tribes used the namele leaf to mark boundaries that could not be crossed, a technique applied after wars to protect peace agreements. More recently, locals in Matantas realised the leaf could help protect the forest, and began publicising its presence in Vatthe as a way to keep outsiders away. The idea has caught on, and the government in Vanuatu’s capital Port Vila now officially advocates that chiefs elsewhere use similar taboos to protect nature. Traditional law still holds real sway in Vanuatu. The country’s Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs is made of up custom chiefs from across the nation and holds real political power. Proponents of invoking the namele leaf taboo for conservation say it has helped keep Vatthe Conservation Area largely intact, despite few other protections. However, they acknowledge that the leaf and even growing national and international attention to Vatthe’s importance are far from enough. – AFP

Vanuatu’s tribes used the namele leaf to mark boundaries that could not be crossed, a technique applied after wars to protect peace agreements. – PEXELSPIC