For the past few years social media outlets have been quick to share the news about Japan's abandoned houses known as Akiya. I have had a few people contact me about them since I have been living in Japan, so I decided that it is finally time to write about it. It is said that there are upwards of 9 million potential Akiya homes throughout Japan. How is this possible? It is said that due to Japan's continual population decline as well as increased desire to leave small towns in search of a better life in the city that Japan's Akiya numbers have skyrocketed. Even now it is not uncommon to find large abandoned houses for sale at rock bottom prices throughout Japan. Websites like Akiyabanks have been setup to find these places rapidly. How is this scenario even possible?
In Japan the general mindset concerning housing is that it is simply for living, not necessarily a long-term investment. In America before the various housing booms of the 1990s housing was also generally considered a place to live as opposed to an investment. Later when house flipping and speculation became the norm house prices began to rise dramatically. However in Japan the mindset was far different. Due to factors such as stagnant wages, low availability of quality housing materials, and an environment of continual natural disasters houses were used for short periods of time and changed out for relatively low prices. A house was expected to last 20 to 30 years, not a lifetime. In Japan in general the value of houses decline over time, while land tends to increase in value. So, when family passes away and their old houses were ready to go to the next generation, the heirs generally decide to let them foreclose rather than pay off huge inheritance taxes and the costs necessary to update these home. Because of this many millions of homes just sat for years and broke down into their current conditions. Japanese people would rather demolish an old house and start over than go through all of the headaches and expenses of updating an old house. Most Japanese do not have the time or resources to do this. This is why it is very common to see an old house in a Japanese neighborhood torn down rather than renovated. But, what if you did want to buy that old Akiya?
In general with Japan's highly bureaucratic nature it is not exactly easy to take over an abandoned house and fix it up, but it can be done. You do not necessarily have to be a resident to buy property in Japan, but it will be almost impossible to get it financed in Japan. It will have to be paid 100% with cash. Getting that amount of cash into Japan will require a Japanese bank account which requires some form of residency unless you can somehow do a transfer overseas with special resources which will incur more expenses. Legal issues over the ownership of the house will need to be settled which could potentially be a very lengthy and expensive process. Rather than deal with an old house, most people would prefer to let the houses fade into obscurity. Many of these houses also have issues with mold, termites, foundational cracks, or roof issues, which will require specialized skills and knowledge of the resources available in Japan to fix them. These projects can easily go into the tens of thousands of dollars or more to do. Old housing material is potentially not easily disposed and must be categorized and disposed properly by the proper people which can also potentially be costly. Once renovated, the house will need to pass modern inspections which will require many potential extra costs as well as more potential bureaucratic difficulties. Some houses may not even be legally rebuilt! All of these factors can be difficult given that many of these houses are in very rural areas in which it is difficult to get anything done in a timely manner let alone find a contractor willing to help. Even if you are able to successfully navigate all of these factors many areas will require you to live in the house full time as a resident for a certain period of time which will require a longer-term visa.
With all of that being said there are those who are able to find a few of these houses that are profitable. Some house flippers from the West with certain knowledge of Japan have been able to renovate these houses and turn them into AirBNB rentals successfully. This has caused tension with native Japanese. Many Japanese neighborhoods do no appreciate houses being turned into AirBNB rentals that bring noisy obnoxious foreign visitors, but would much rather that they remain an old abandoned house. Public pressure is mounting against AirBNB rentals in general. In recent times Japanese officials have begun to crack down on these investors, making it more and more difficult to become profitable or even doable. It seems as if the days of flipping Akiyas may be coming to an end. However, if you are interested in living in Japan long-term in a rural area an Akiya may be a good option if you are willing to jump through all of the various hoops!
As a missionary living in Japan for many years to me the Akiya itself is a foreboding reflection of the continual rapid population decline issue in Japan. Like the Akiya, many elderly people are ignored, dying alone in obscurity with no care. Now upwards to 30% of the population is in retirement age with no real solutions to increase the population. These modern problems do not seem to have any reasonable Japanese solutions. Rather than deal with the issues most Japanese people seem to be content with letting things decline slowly just like the Akiya, and even make it increasingly difficult for those who try to go against the system to make helpful changes. However, only by facing issues directly can they be resolved. This is how Jesus deal with the issues of his day. Even now Jesus is working on the hearts and minds of many Japanese people. By making peace with the creator, Jesus Christ, the Japanese people can truly find the societal revitalization that they will need to move forward as a people, not fade into obscurity like the Akiya.
