KOFU, Yamanashi Pref. -- The home of Yutaka Endo (not his real name) resembles one in a lesser-developed nation. His living room walls are stained where the rain has leaked through cracks; the wind whistles through warped window and door frames.
A crack in the roof, which is bereft of several tiles that have broken away, continues down into a third-floor room and then along the stairway wall below.
"It's been like this for several years. We've spent several million yen on repairs, but this is an old house," he said. "We can't replace the tiles because they are a different size (from those used today). Even if we could, we'd first have to replace the roof, which has rotted where the rain has leaked in."