Business Notes REAL ESTATE

With the yen so strong against the dollar, Japanese investors have been snapping up prime pieces of U.S. real estate from Honolulu to Manhattan. None of these acquisitors is quite like 36-year-old Ikuo Hiyakuta. He gobbles up entire city blocks like so much cardboard. Then he builds row upon row of houses and hotels until his rivals are driven into bankruptcy.

Fortunately, Hiyakuta's ruthlessness is all in good fun. Last week in London he became the first Japanese to win the world's Monopoly championship, defeating 29 players from 28 countries. His final challenger: 13-year-old Ken Shabtay, an Israeli. Hiyakuta was breathless after collecting his last dollar in the 2 1/4-hour final. "Most pleased!" he declared. "I really wanted to win. I was determined." His title is no mean feat: the game has now been translated into 19 languages, and 100 million copies have been sold. Hiyakuta, a trading-company employee from Chiba City, took home a cash prize of $15,140 -- the amount of play money that comes with a Monopoly set.