Yeah they have so much empty homes that they have to live like sardines in hallway sized "apartments" and pods.
Many of theses houses have been left for different reasons, though the catalyst is often the original owner dying. Sometimes an heir refuses to accept the home their families left behind—as was the case with Thursfield’s home. Others do not name an inheritor, or relatives who have been passed the home don’t need it but don’t want to sell family land out of respect.
Most of these houses still belong to someone and aren't for sale.
Adding that the new generation wants/prefers to live in urban areas where there are no empty homes. That's what I'm talking about.
The article is misleading as to what's going on there. The government has imposed laws which make home ownership undesirable. Most of those houses are abandoned. They have an entire industry setup to facilitate sell and transfer of these houses and at extremely discounted rates. There are literally millions of homes to buy at extremely cheap prices. The entire situation could be turned around if the government simply legislated laws encouraging home ownership.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cLMQ_cd1VE
Random video. Have not watched. But I assume they will speak some of the issues Japan has created for themselves and why there are so many abandoned houses available at steeply discounted prices.
The word you want to look for is 'akiya', which means, 'abandoned.'
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