Shochiku sells home office

[Aaron Gerow]

Shochiku announces on the 17th that it will be selling the land where its 
head office was formerly located to a commerical developer for 17 billion 
yen.  Shochiku will then borrow the land and build a 21 story tenant 
building for 22 billion.  The expected rental revenue will be 2.1 billion 
a year.  Company officials declared their intention to further pursue 
such real estate deals, which they declared as the third pillar of the 
company after film and Kabuki.  Still, Shochiku reported a loss of 4.3 
billion for the period ending in February, the second loss in a row. 

Rumors, however, still persist of big troubles at Shochiku, including 
some which state that the company is having trouble getting the money to 
make its "blockbuster" for this year, _Nihon chinbotsu 1999_.  And given 
that it was real estate deals that did in rivals like Nikkatsu before, 
one wonders how much real estate will help to save the company.

Shochiku moved its head office last year to the Higashigeki building in 
Tsukiji.  



Aaron Gerow
Yokohama National University
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