A number of investors believe that there may be good times ahead for Tokyo and the Japanese property market. Over the last 13 years Japan has experienced a continuous decline in the value of thousands of commercial and residential buildings, leading many to believe that there is now scope for possible bargains.

New York-based investment fund Aetos Capital LLC has hired one of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.s top executives in Tokyo to find the bargains. Aetoss Japanese fund, which raised $740 million in December, has the ability to invest as much as $3 billion in Japanese property and related assets, including borrowed money, said Scott Kelley, head of Aetos Capital global real estate business.

Already some foreign investors have bought Japanese apartments, office buildings, hotels and golf courses in recent years, as the industry now looks ripe for a possible recovery.