Last year marked a memorable 150th anniversary of treaty of commerce between Japan and western countries, and for Japan that started international trade at the end of the Edo era, a means of trade settlement with overseas countries was needed first. At the time, it was the international banks in Japan that carried out the trade settlement functions by way of foreign exchange.
The often mentioned pros, like better maintenance of properties, and cons, like less labor mobility and more debt - are at best in balance. From a fiscal perspective I therefore believe that countries should strive to move to a tax system that is more or less neutral towards homeownership.