Japan faces a serious crisis of abandoned homes numbering over 10 million, predominantly in the countryside. This reflects severe demographic shifts – declining birth rates, aging villages and migration of youth to cities has left many rural regions and small towns with hollowed-out populations. The result is hundreds of thousands of empty homes, left to decay.
The Rise of Abandoned Homes in Rural Japan
Japan’s total population peaked in 2008 and has gone down ever since. The population is expected to decline from 126 million to about 88 million by 2065. At the same time, close to 30% of the population is over 65 years old.
Figure 1: Projected Population Decline in Japan
This combination of population decline and rapid aging has hit rural regions very hard. Young people have been migrating to bigger cities like Tokyo or Osaka for decades in search of better education and high-paying jobs. As family homes are passed down to aging inheritance tax can also prompt sales.
“We are looking at demographic changes not seen since the medieval Black Death epidemics. Villages are turning into ghost towns, with vacant houses making up nearly one-fifth of all homes across Japan,” explains Minoru Takada, a senior researcher at the Local Societies Research Institute.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications estimates there are over 10 million unoccupied homes in Japan. More than half of these vacant units have been abandoned altogether by their owners. They litter the countryside from Hokkaido to Okinawa, left empty for years to simply decay and collapse.
Rows of abandoned houses in rural Osaka Prefecture. (Source: Japan Times)
Danger Posed By Abandoned Homes
This glut of abandoned homes poses huge problems for rural municipalities in terms of lost tax revenue, safety issues, and overall image.
Empty and decrepit homes drop the value of the wider real estate market in those regions. They are also easy targets for criminal activities. Reports of squatting and illegal dumping are very common. Deteriorating wooden structures also increase fire risk for neighboring occupied homes.
Many rural villages have below-replacement fertility rates, compounded by outward migration. They are struggling with shrinking budgets and have limited resources to demolish dangerous vacant homes within their official boundaries.
Figure 2. Rural Depopulation in Japan
Government and Municipal Efforts To Repurpose Abandoned Homes
To tackle this complex crisis, the Japanese government amended laws in 2015 to make it easier for owners to either demolish or sell abandoned homes. Many rural municipalities are creating schemes to facilitate quick and cheap transfers of vacant houses to interested buyers.
Numerous towns and villages across Japan are literally giving away abandoned houses for free to anyone willing to inhabit them. For instance:
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Okutama village near Tokyo put up 16 vacant homes for sale to Tokyoites, 5 of which were free. The remaining 11 were sold for between $500 to $2,000.
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Kobe City in Hyogo Prefecture is running a scheme offering tiny plots of land with houses for $77 (10,000 Yen) to young people.
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The town of Yamakiya in Yamgata Prefecture is offering 10 free houses as well as subsidies for settlers. The only requirement is that owners must live in the home.
“Such aggressive promotions by local governments reflect their growing urgency regarding long-term vacancy management and regional revitalization,” says Lisa Sano, an urban planning professor at the University of Tokyo.
Should You Take up Japan’s Offer of Free Houses?
“Many people fantasize about getting a free house in Japan’s peaceful and picturesque countryside. But the reality of renovating and living in rural Japan can be quite different and challenging,” cautions Taro Mitsui, a veteran home renovation contractor.
So before you daydream about moving into an abandoned country home in Japan, be aware of all aspects involved:
Major Renovations Required
Most abandoned homes offered for free require extensive and expensive remodelling to become inhabitable as modern living spaces. They are in poor structural shape, often lacking basic utilities like electricity, water or heating systems. You need to factor in the major costs of redoing flooring, walls, plumbing, etc.
Limited Livability & Comforts
Decades-old country houses require upgrades to insulation and amenities to reach comfortable living standards. Without air conditioning or heating, Japan’s bitter winters and humid summers are brutal. Be prepared to invest in renovations like these for the long-term.
Consult Experts Before Taking Ownership
There are legal complexities surrounding property acquisitions, land rights and taxation for foreign or out-of-town buyers. Significant paperwork is involved. Thus, consult qualified real estate agents or lawyers before entering any purchase agreement.
Life in Rural Japan Requires Adjustment
Be willing to embrace a slow-paced lifestyle in remote areas where you may face a language barrier. Make sure you adapt rather than complain about the laidback environs, lack of shopping options or public services compared to cities. Not ideal if you still need to commute to an office daily.
Isolation Can Bring Loneliness
Moving to the serene Japanese countryside sounds idyllic. But once settled in distant villages, the isolation and lack of social circles can cause profound loneliness for those unprepared for it. If you crave constant connectivity, bustle and options to eat out, rethink such a drastic move.
If even after considering all those factors, you envision yourself living in the Japanese countryside someday, don’t let go of that dream too quickly. Just make sure you thoroughly research any offered property and consult the right experts to avoid expensive mistakes down the road. Use all resources available to see if such a proposition can work sustainably within your lifestyle and budget constraints.
Can Broken Houses Revitalize Ghost Towns?
Giving away abandoned properties seems an innovative way to tackle the complex issue of Japan’s rural exodus and shrinking demographics. However, whether such schemes can reverse long-term decay for ghost villages and towns is debatable.
After all, systemic socio-economic and cultural shifts led to this point of hollowing out Japan‘s countryside over decades. Urbanization is bound to accelerate rather than reverse as industries concentrate in cities and jobs disappear from rural areas.
Can an influx of owners save Japan‘s rural ghost towns? (Source: Pixabay)
As economist Paul Sheard noted in The Japan Times, such slow-motion demographic collapse has no real precedent barring catastrophes like plagues or wars. All prior recoveries involved population and productivity gains.
Yet outward migration and aging continues driving Japan’s countryside into free fall. Is sprinkling new residents into scattered ghost villages enough of a solution? The economy has been stagnant for decades, unlikely to generate rural jobs or development without substantial reforms.
Ultimately, infusing these dying villages with young, permanent settlers seems the only hope to rebuild communities and a tax base. But trends may be too challenging to reverse across significant parts of Japan without concerted national policies.
Rural Towns Could Attract Gamers and Streamers With Free Housing
While sceptics question whether free houses can save hollowed-out villages, changing workplace dynamics and rising remote work may offer a glimmer of hope alongside a new opportunity – attracting online gamers, streamers and esports professionals.
Live streaming games and competitions has exploded into a $3 billion market globally. Top professional gamers and internet gaming personalities have millions of fans worldwide. Most earn a handsome living through advertising, subscriptions, endorsements and prize money.
The global esports audience will soon top 600 million viewers. Over 198 million watch esports frequently for an average of over 6 hours per week!
For such digital natives making careers playing or producing game-related content online, location flexibility is absolute. Fast, reliable internet is their only constraint.
Many may find appeal in Japanese culture fused with an affordable cost of living if rural towns equip themselves with fiber broadband and optimized infrastructure. Their online fame and appeal can attract followers and revitalize communities.
Free housing allows popular streamers and gamers first entry into desirable locations otherwise impossible on their budgets. Rural revitalization plans can offer dedicated co-living spaces with gaming gear, meeting rooms for collaborations and facilities tailored to digital creators.
Towns can host gaming festivals and events, also welcoming online viewers virtually through livestreams. The goal is creating vibrant ecosystems that feel designed for modern online entertainers seeking work-life balance.
Okuizumo in Shimane Prefecture is one such small town attempting to repopulate by leveraging Japan’s gaming and anime culture. Their ‘I Move’ project offers not just free vacant houses but also ultrafast 10Gbps internet to attract young tech and creative talent.
Game developers large and small also find appeal in rural Japanese towns to build studios. Lower costs and rich nature environments make for happy designers with better retention.
For instance, Nintendo chose Kyoto as their headquarters way back in 1889 for its skilled craftsmen and scenic surrounds. Today small indie game studios like Osaka-based Acquire situate in Japan‘s countryside to tap talent and quality of life perks.
Major developers like Sony PlayStation and Square Enix have opened new production studios across smaller cities in Japan – in lovely locales like Nagano, Fukuoka and Ehime on Shikoku island.
Free Housing Helps Gamers Embrace Rural Living
Twenty-seven-year-old Jay Sharma produces daily Japanese gaming commentary videos on YouTube for his channel GameSauce from his home in Saitama Prefecture. He works full-time remotely for an esports firm in Tokyo.
When looking to move out of his tiny Tokyo apartment, Sharma considered small towns offering free houses under rural revitalization subsidies. He picked Ogawa village in Saitama, just 90 minutes from Tokyo by train but a world away in lush natural surrounds.
The Good and Bad of Rural Living
“Pushing my initial hesitation aside, I found the slower rhythms of rural living to be much more calm and fulfilling”, recalls Sharma. “I spend less time commuting and more time hiking stunning trails”.
His rent plummeted from $800 to just $400 per month for a refurbished 2-story house. And 10Gbps broadband allows seamless uploads for his YouTube channel now nearing 400,000 subscribers.
However, Sharma admits transitioning was not always smooth. “Limited English Speakers made paperwork frustrating. And lack of late-night food delivery options took adjustment too!”
Still, helpful neighbors made him feel welcome right away. And the opportunity to grow his own small garden, rarely possible in Tokyo, brought great joy.
Gaming Culture Can Revitalize Towns
Sharma actively participates in community events, livestreaming local festivals to his global subscriber base. He believes online creators can play a pivotal role in sustaining rural towns.
“We bring youthful energy and technological know-how to promote small-town charm worldwide. And visiting fans stimulate tourism too.”
Ogawa has set up co-working spaces, gaming gear rentals and virtual reality festivals to cater to online talent like Sharma. He says such modern infrastructure and understanding of internet culture is vital alongside empty houses.
Gradual Resettlement Holds Long-Term Promise
As more young professionals attracted by Japan‘s anime culture and gaming opportunities move into rural areas, they pioneer infrastructure and lifestyle improvements for others to follow.
Instead of mass redevelopment policies, encouraging such gradual resettlement may emerge as a valuable bottom-up solution to sustain and revive villages amid inexorable demographic shifts.
Sustainability and Environmental Benefits
Beyond economic revitalization, rehabilitating existing abandoned houses aligns with sustainability goals in the age of climate change.
Constructing eco-friendly new houses has huge carbon costs. Production of cement alone accounts for 8% of global emissions. Adding renewable energy systems offsets such impact only decades later.
Restoring and retrofitting houses already built decades ago thus offers an environmentally responsible approach aligned with Japan’s aim for carbon neutrality by 2050. Using traditional techniques combined with green technology lets villages sustainably welcome new generations.
Planting trees, community gardens and green spaces around old homes coming back to life also promotes local biodiversity. Their embodied nostalgia resonates more with young generations rather than building rows of sterile new houses.
Conclusion
While Japan‘s idealized ancient countryside captivates worldwide interest, its grim modern reality features shuttered towns haunted by empty houses creeping back into nature‘s grasp.
Stemming the outflow of young residents is an intractable challenge tied to decades of economic shifts and urbanization. Luring digital and creative professionals through free housing incentives can rejuvenate hollowed-out villages.
Gradual regeneration leveraging Japan‘s global cultural influence – from manga and anime to gaming – seems a realistic solution. Offering cheap vacant properties lets young lifestyle migrants experience the positives of rural living with fewer initial risks.
Influxes of permanent new residents, however small, may ignite wider revitalization across communities starving for human presence and commerce.
Rather than footloose tourists or wealthy vacation homeowners, attracting digital nomads and online creators enamored by Japan‘s essence can make redevelopment sustainable beyond just free houses.
The collaboration between small towns and internet economies remains nascent with unproven results so far. But one can hope the abandoned houses crisscrossing Japan‘s heartland will see lights and laughter again thanks to these bridges between the virtual and physical worlds.