The Star Edition“It was the price of a car,” says Stuart Galbraith IV of the house in rural Japan he bought in 2016. Eldridge, a Japan-based political scientist, says there are many instances where foreign appreciation of various cultural aspects of Japan has led to their revitalization, as was the case with the 20th-century revival of woodblock prints. Foreigners, even from outside Japan, can apply, and in some cases, municipalities have facilitated the visa process for them