Japanese businessman Genshiro Kawamoto has put more than one-third of his Hawaii residential properties up for sale. The reasons are unclear. Japan businessman selling
59 isle residential propertiesBy Tim Ruel
truel@starbulletin.comKawamoto has placed 59 of his roughly 160 properties on the multiple listing service, said Carol Asai-Sato, attorney for Kawamoto.
She didn't have a clear explanation as to why Kawamoto is trying to sell his holdings, but insisted his financial condition remains solid.
Kawamoto, who made billions as a developer during Japan's real estate boom, bought heavily into the Hawaii market in the late 1980s, driving around Honolulu in a white limousine and snapping up properties at high prices.
His holdings range from luxury homes in the Portlock neighborhood of Hawaii Kai, to units in the Royal Capitol Plaza high-rise in Kakaako.
Kawamoto disappeared from the local media spotlight in the mid-1990s, but reemerged last year with an announcement that he was reviving a proposal for an affordable housing project on Maui.
Kawamoto originally proffered the venture in 1990, along with a slew of affordable housing developments, to quell criticism about the high home prices caused by Japanese investment. The projects never got off the ground, and more recently, Kawamoto's land-use application for the Maui development was returned by the state because the application was defective.
Kawamoto also has been in a dispute with neighbors of his 130-acre property in Kahaluu. On Christmas Eve, Kawamoto tore up their driveway, which were encroaching on his property. Now the city is looking at condemning the land, with a hearing scheduled for Feb. 20.