Osaka District Court Approves Suspension of Business Suspension for Urban Comprehensive Research Investment Fund

The Osaka District Court has granted the suspension of the business suspension order filed by the Urban Comprehensive Research Investment Fund against the Osaka Prefecture’s business suspension decision. The effect of the business suspension order has been suspended until 7 days after the verdict of the first trial.

The Urban Comprehensive Research Investment Fund, which manages the real estate co-ownership fund “Let’s Be Landlords Together”, argued for the suspension of the business suspension order’s effect, claiming procedural violations and the overreach or abuse of discretionary powers, citing an urgent need to avoid significant damage.

On June 17, Osaka Prefecture ordered a 30-day business suspension in response to the fund’s actions regarding the Narita Airport Vicinity Development Project sold as investment products in “Let’s Be Landlords Together”. Despite recognizing that changes in the project’s business plan significantly affected the asset value of the targeted real estate, the fund failed to disclose critical information to investors and engaged in improper conduct by including land not subject to development permission and later altering contracts with investors inappropriately.

In May, Kyosei Bank, the parent company, revealed plans to construct a mixed-use facility “GATEWAY NARITA” near Narita International Airport. The plot covers approximately 445,000 square meters with a total floor area of about 380,000 square meters. The opening is scheduled for March 2027. The plan includes an arena with a 6,000 square meter screen and over 5,000 seats, the largest hotel in the area, research and development facilities aiming at expanding the export of Japanese food, a bus terminal, and parking buildings.

“Let’s Be Landlords Together” has raised funds from individual investors for the Narita Airport Vicinity Development Project over 18 rounds, with the total amount raised exceeding 190 billion yen. The investment period is about 5 years, with an expected return of 7%, which has been viewed skeptically due to unsatisfactory development progress, raising questions on social media. Although the Rakumachi Real Estate Investment News published an article raising issues with the scheme, Kyosei Bank and two other group companies announced that they had filed a criminal complaint, leading to the article’s removal.