Is this common or do my Japanese friends & coworkers just suck

Emergency Contacts.

Of all the paperwork and documentation required to get a new apartment, why is this the most difficult thing to get?

I make it very clear to those I ask: this is a 緊急連絡先 and is absolutely not a 連帯保証人.

But even with that, I can’t even manage to get a phone number from them, let alone the birth date, mailing address, blood from their virgin daughter, etc that’s required. No work or school contacts either—it’s gotta be personal.

I have enough money that I can flash at apartment suitors but without this emergency contact info (that they confirm the validity of, so I can’t fake it) it’s still a hard no.

Is this common? What can I do? Advice? Help?