Language not easy for anything and perhaps Japanese have some distrust or uneasiness working with foreigners. 

China became communist because they stayed and fought the Japanese while the nationalists fled.

A japanese company bought the refinery December 2015, the economy will come back when it opens for productiin and employment again.

SB 721 launched an industry with its share of unscrupulous players.

If I'm in your shoes (which I was a few years ago) I would recommend attending at least 1-2 real estate meetups a month to start putting yourself out there and networking with other players in your market. 

Once you befriend one of these big players, ask who they use.

Otherwise, bite the bullet and pay the real players in this area for what they provide (Buildium, Appfolio, RentManager, etc).

I hear a lot about standard personal loans, mortgages, etc - but do banks or smaller players consider situations like the above?

I can at minimum, provide insight into certain markets/ball players to connect with based on your strategy. 

Vacasa and Evolve are two of the major players that could have an opportunity in that area for you to be boots on the ground.