Estate agent advice

[dreg]

I moved into my current mansion under an understanding with the landlord (not the estate agent), that the contract be beween his company and my company. As I am a foreigner, he would not trust my financially.

A family emergency last month meant I had to leave japan for an unspecified amount of days (my grandma was on her death bed, so I could obviousely not time my return), this did not sit well with my employer, so I left the company.

I now have until the end of the year to leave the apartment. Even when I do move into a new job, the landlord has stated I will have to take all the stuff out of the apt, redo all the paperwork and repay all the upfront monies in order to move back in. Having just moved in six months ago for a figure exceeding 600,000 yen I am reluctant to do so.

I realise there is little I can do to keep this apartment, but should any of you be able to put me in touch with a decent estate agent (I am not concerned about paying several months of rent in advance, but would like to avoid paying key monies and agent fees) I would be most appreciative. I am looking for something in the region of 120K in Nakameguro.

I speak passable japanese, but can of course use a billingual friend should the need arise. Alternatively, if you know how the above situation could be resolved in a less costly manner, I would love to hear from you. Please note, he is playing the "I am awfully sorry, but I cannot possibly make any ammendments to the contract" card, which will guarantee him a new moving in fee, either from myself, or the next tenant.

Many thanks