house in a small village in Miyoshi, Japan. Figures released this week shows the number of vacant houses in Japan has topped 9m.house in a small village in Miyoshi, Japan. Figures released this week shows the number of vacant houses in Japan has topped 9m.
That total figure of vacant homes represents nearly 14% of all houses in Japan, though the real number could be higher. The Nomura Research Institute estimates there are nearly 11mMore than 4.4m of the properties surveyed are available to rent – but have been empty long-term and are mostly away from the main population centres. The status of more than 3.8 million is unknown and only 330,000 of the 9m were up for sale.
Hana Sakata and her husband have been renovating and renting out houses for almost a decade through their New Heritage venture, beginning with a holiday home on the Izu peninsula that had lain vacant and fallen into utter disrepair. They acquired a traditionalhouse in a village in mountainous Nagano after part of it collapsed under the weight of uncleared snow while its elderly owner was in a care facility.