In Japan renting a new apartment has always been a very difficult endeavor. There are many structured systems that make it very difficult for anyone to get into a new place.
Originally, Morris International was focused mainly on the foreign community as not only did many foreigners have a language disadvantage but often did not want to stay for the 2 year contract period that is the norm for most real-estate companies in Japan. The other major barrier was the need to provide a guarantor for getting your apartment.