How-tos May 17, 2021
Renting, building or renovating: Tips to get the best roof over your head
by Eric Margolis
If you plan to stay for a while in Japan, there are several routes you can take when it comes to finding a place to rest your head.
How-tos May 10, 2021
Japan’s undeterred housing market is full of opportunity for foreign residents
by Eric Margolis
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many foreign residents to think about what they want to do long-term in Japan. For some, buying property is the answer.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Nov 23, 2020
Cheap, spacious, crowd-free: Rural Japan is having a moment with the foreign community
by Jessop Petroski
Laura Blackhall took a risk purchasing an empty house in the Ibaraki countryside. Amid and following a pandemic, though, it's a choice that just might pay off.
Business / Corporate Jun 24, 2019
House-flipper takes advantage of Japan's 8 million-plus empty homes
by Keiko Ujikane and Shingo Kawamoto
More than 8 million homes lie abandoned across Japan, a symptom of the declining population and people's migration to major cities. For one company, this isn't just an ominous demographic signal, it is also a business opportunity. Katitas Co. is a house-flipper, deploying a business model ...
National Apr 26, 2019
Number of abandoned homes in Japan edges up to record high of nearly 8.5 million
Empty homes now account for 13.6 percent of Japan’s housing stock, with the bulk of them concentrated in Yamanashi and Wakayama prefectures, government data show.
Travel Aug 13, 2016
The lure of Japan's mysterious ruins
by Tim Hornyak
Abandoned sites offer explorers a numinous mix of history, mortality and a sense of the passage of time
How-tos | HOME TRUTHS Mar 6, 2015
Cheap rural homes come at a price
by Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku
Though the hollowing-out of population in regional areas in Japan has become a major issue for the central government, it's been a problem for regional governments for more than three decades. Twenty years ago there was a popular promotional method called "I-turn," devised as ...