From numerous YT videos of well-established foreigners in Japan I understand that just moving house and being accepted for a rental contract is very difficult. Often foreigners are asked to pay higher deposits even though their income is from Japan and have lived there for years, and have rented without problem elsewhere.
Yup that is spot on. My company wouldn't act as a guarantor for me so the only way to get a rental contract was to pay an additional $800 (and $100 per year after) for a special company to act as my guarantor. This is with a good salary and pay stubs to match.
Don't even get me started on the rental company that takes a 1 month rent cut... or 2-3 months rent for "key money"... or ...
I would advise staying away from large rental companies because they charge a lot to do a little, but I believe key and gratitude money are set by the landlord.
1 month rent is the rental company's "finder fee", which is standard.
It's all the other fees they sting you with that really hurt. I ended up paying about and extra month of rent per year for dumb shit that they decided to charge me for. And you had better make sure your apartment is better-than-spotless when you move out.
Japanese law says that you don't have to pay for damage or wear and tear caused through everyday living, but they'll still try to keep your deposit or charge you for repairs.
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odahzHioQQ4