{"id":2316,"date":"2025-04-04T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/?p=2316"},"modified":"2025-03-27T11:06:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T10:06:23","slug":"no-homes-for-newcomers-vacant-houses-and-the-housing-shortage-in-rural-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/2025\/04\/04\/no-homes-for-newcomers-vacant-houses-and-the-housing-shortage-in-rural-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"No homes for newcomers? Vacant houses and the housing shortage in rural Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Cornelia Reiher<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When newcomers move to the countryside, they need a place to live. Although there are many abandoned properties in rural Japan, they often struggle to find land and houses to buy or rent (Lollini 2024). This may come as a surprise, as even international media outlets have picked up on the results of the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication\u2019s 2023 Housing and Land Survey, which found that 9 million or 13.8% of all houses in Japan were vacant (Lau and Maruyama 2024; S\u014dmush\u014d 2024). The problem of house abandonment has attracted increasing media attention in recent years and is not only a problem of rural areas, but also affects many cities. However, the proportion of the nine million houses that are vacant in Japan is high in rural areas and highest in Wakayama, Tokushima and Yamanashi prefectures (Jiji 2024).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not all abandoned houses get renovated. This house was still standing in 2022 \u2026<\/em>
Copyright \u00a9 Cornelia Reiher 2022<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But why is it so difficult for newcomers to find a new home when rural Japan is full of abandoned houses? In many cases, the homes of elderly people who live alone are left empty when they die or move into nursing facilities (Jiji 2024). Since the economic value of old or \u201csecond-hand\u201d houses is low, heirs often do not want to take over inherited houses. They are not required to register inherited property titles in their own names, so the owners of abandoned houses are often unknown (Nozawa 2022), or the property is divided among a growing number of people, making it difficult for local authorities to track them all down to do something with the property and collect property taxes (Lollini 2024). But even if the owners are known, they may decide to simply leave the house empty for economic reasons. The cost of demolition, for instance, is high and a lot without a house is subject to much higher property taxes. Thus, owners would rather leave the house vacant than demolish it (Platz 2024). There are also private and cultural reasons for holding on to vacant properties. Some owners use the houses for storage, as a second home, or for sentimental reasons. Furthermore, since the house is also a place of ancestor worship in Japan, the owners have a duty to take care of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2026 but in 2023 it had been demolished and was gone.<\/em>
Copyright \u00a9 Cornelia Reiher 2023<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite these difficulties, newcomers to rural Japan do find places to live. The Act on Special Measures Concerning Vacant Houses promotes reuse of abandoned houses, and encouraged local governments to create databases of vacant houses (akiya bank<\/em>). Through these databases, local governments provide information on available housing. The national government is also obligated to financially support the administrative efforts of local governments on issues covered by this law (Umeda 2014). As a result, most Japanese municipalities have established their own akiya<\/em> bank. In some cases, akiya <\/em>banks provide information not only about available housing, but also about local history, culture, and customs. Local governments often cooperate with real estate companies or NPOs, and hire staff through chiiki okoshi ky\u014dryokutai<\/em> (COKT; English: Community building support staff program) to run akiya<\/em> banks (Hatayama 2016). In addition, local governments across Japan have developed a variety of programs to support housing for urban-rural migrants. Some offer subsidies to convert akiya<\/em> into guesthouses or to help people rent apartments by reducing the rent or paying their moving expenses, while others offer to reduce property taxes or pay a percentage of the interest on loans (Reiher 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Empty plots of land are a common sight in rural Japan.<\/em>
Copyright \u00a9 Cornelia Reiher 2023<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite these efforts, urban-rural migrants often find housing through word of mouth rather than through akiya<\/em> banks (Pollacco 2023; Lollini 2024). Therefore, local authorities and other actors involved in supporting urban-rural migrants recommend that they visit places they are interested in and build relationships of trust before moving. Migrants with previous connections to the place through kinship or stays there for work or vacation purposes might have an advantage when looking for housing. However, many organizations also try to act as intermediaries to match migrants with no previous ties to their municipalities with the local community and housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hatayama, N. 2016. \u201cIj\u016bsha o chiiki to tsunagu no wa dare ka? Chichibu akiya banku ni okeru minkan kigy\u014d to jichitai no renkei.\u201d Nihon toshi shakaigaku nenp\u014d <\/em>49: 137\u2013145.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jiji. 2024. \u201cNumber of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million.\u201d The Japan Times<\/em>, May 1, 2024. https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/news\/2024\/05\/01\/japan\/japan-vacant-homes-record-high\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lau, C., and M. Maruyama. 2024. \u201cSuper-aged Japan now has 9 million vacant homes. And that\u2019s a problem.\u201d CNN<\/em>, May 7, 2024. https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2024\/05\/07\/asia\/akiya-homes-problem-japan-intl-hnk\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lollini, N. 2024. \u201cThe right to abandon and the duty to maintain: Addressing the akiya mondai in regional Japan.\u201d Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies<\/em> 24 (2): http:\/\/www.japanesestudies.org.uk\/ejcjs\/vol24\/iss2\/lollini.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nozawa, C. 2022. \u201cLand and homes and the Japanese: The issue of vacant houses and land with unknown owners today: What progress with preparations for closing houses?\u201d Japan Foreign Policy Forum<\/em>. https:\/\/www.japanpolicyforum.jp\/society\/pt2022012616580811841.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Platz, A. 2024. \u201cFrom social issue to art site and beyond: Reassessing rural akiya kominkan<\/em>.\u201d Contemporary Japan<\/em> 36 (1): 41\u201356.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollacco, L. 2023. \u201cRenting akiya: A backdoor into Japan\u2019s abandoned homes.\u201d The Japan Times<\/em>, November 18, 2023. https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/life\/2023\/11\/18\/lifestyle\/akiya-renting-kochi\/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pianoex&utm_campaign=64922372<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reiher, C., 2020. \u201cEmbracing the periphery: Urbanites\u2019 motivations to relocate to rural Japan.\u201d In Japan\u2019s New ruralities: Coping with decline in the periphery<\/em>, edited by W. Manzenreiter, R. L\u00fctzeler, and S. Polak-Rottmann, 230\u2013244. London: Routledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S\u014dmush\u014d. 2024. \u201cReiwa 5 nen j\u016btaku, tochi t\u014dkei ch\u014dsa j\u016btakus\u016b gais\u016b sh\u016bkei (sokuh\u014d sh\u016bkei) kekka.\u201d https:\/\/www.stat.go.jp\/data\/jyutaku\/2023\/pdf\/g_kekka.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Umeda, S. 2014. \u201cJapan: New law and tax measure to promote demolition and reuse of abandoned houses.\u201d Global Legal Monitor<\/em>.\u00a0 https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/global-legal-monitor\/2014-12-05\/japan-new-law-and-tax-measure-to-promote-demolition-and-reuse-of-abandoned-houses\/<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Cornelia Reiher When newcomers move to the countryside, they need a place to live. Although there are many abandoned properties in rural Japan, they often struggle to find land and houses to buy or rent (Lollini 2024). This may … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7641,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7641"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2316"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2320,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316\/revisions\/2320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/userblogs.fu-berlin.de\/urban-rural-migration-japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}