“I received an inquiry three days after listing my property on the website and was able to transfer it within a month,” said Toshio Nakahashi, who became the first person to transfer a property under the project on April 30. Nakahashi, 78, handed over his family’s two-story wooden Kamiichi home, which had been vacant for more than 10 years since his mother, who had been living alone, moved to a nursing home. “I wanted to give away my house. It’s fine that I didn’t get anything for it,” he recalled. Nakahashi could not afford the millions of yen that demolition would have cost, so he posted the property on the municipality’s website on April 1. “I thought it would take a year or two. I’m relieved,” he said. Kamiichi’s population as of July 1 was 19,429, 70% of its peak in 1955. According to the town, as of March, there were 330 vacant houses, and the government has been receiving an increasing number of inquiries from its citizens about how to handle them. Meanwhile, the town, a mere 30-minute drive from Toyama City, has been receiving a flurry of inquiries, since even before the COVID-19 outbreak, from people in and outside the prefecture seeking to incorporate farming into their lifestyle. Kamiichi has created a website to link the two sides and named it the “Zero-yen vacant house bank.” Residents wishing to give away their house consult with the town, which then posts on the website photos of the property and information such as the house’s structural type and year of construction. Those who browse the site and take an interest make an inquiry. Negotiations up to the transfer will then be conducted directly between the two parties, according to the Kamiichi town government. Once the transfer is completed, the town will subsidize the costs, granting the conveyor up to ¥50,000 to cover the disposal of unwanted items and the cost of inheritance procedures if the registered owner is dead, and the acquirer up to ¥500,000 on condition of at least two years of residency. The municipality will also help repair the building and strengthen its earthquake resistance. According to the 2018 Housing and Land Survey, there are about 8.49 million vacant houses nationwide, and the vacancy rate hit a record 13.6% that year. Similar measures to those taken by Kamiichi have been implemented nationwide. A real estate company in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, has set up a website where it acts as a mediator, and the town of Okutama, Tokyo, has set up a bank similar to that of Kamiichi’s. After Nakahashi’s, a second vacant house was put up for sale on the website on June 7, and a man from Toyama Prefecture signed a provisional contract for it on June 8. “Houses won’t collapse as long as people live in them and manage them,” a Kamiichi town official in the construction department said. “Some houses come with farmland, and residents can expect income from agriculture. If young people moved in, it would lead to the town’s revitalization.” Thai businesses shift to liquidity-preservation mode amid economic uncertainty and cash crunch Thunderstorms, heavy rain, and gusty winds expected across Thailand AMCHAM Gala 2025 raises Over 1.3M baht for scholarships Kaspersky reports surge in on-device cyberthreats against SEA businesses Vietnam, US to begin first trade talks on May 7 Your browser does not support JavaScript, or it is disabled．Please check the site policy for more information National Report Toyama Prefecture—A woman in her 40s was pleasantly pleased after taking a tour of a home up for sale boasts five bedrooms and stands in a seaside urban area The asking price was equivalent to the cost of a piece of candy and what is wonderful about it is selling for 100 yen ($0.70),” she said on Sept The property became available under the Uozu city government’s “100-yen Akiya Bank” program which was started this fiscal year to encourage sales of “akiya” abandoned homes by setting their price at 100 yen The municipality has been asking residents to register information on vacant homes under the “Akiya Bank” system and publicizing the list It introduced the 100-yen program in a further step to reduce the number of empty homes and reinvigorate the community by getting more people to move in Akiya are considered worthless if they fall into disrepair or suffer from other serious damage The program puts akiya homes on the market when they are still in reasonably good shape Vacant homes eligible for the program are those that can be made habitable after renovation and sold in a month or so Buyers must move into the house with at least another occupant intend to live for a long time and meet other conditions Akiya owners receive the city’s help to unload unused properties that still require maintenance costs and other expenses When city officials advertised the first property in August three groups of potential buyers turned up from Uozu and the Kansai region The woman learned about the seaside property from a colleague She and her husband live in a rented apartment in the city with their two children who lived in the house until about 20 years ago before he rented it out He thought about demolishing the house after the tenants moved out in autumn last year But as soon as he learned about the 100-yen program so I feel a twinge of sadness if I have to tear it down,” he said “If there are people who are happy to use it The city was also inspired by the “Zero-yen Akiya Bank” program introduced by the Kamiichi town office also in Toyama Prefecture to trade vacant homes for free the Uozu officials decided to sell each akiya property for 100 yen Real estate dealers are restricted from trading properties for free they could be excluded from transactions under the program Officials said they hope to clear concerns and questions of buyers and sellers by having professional real estate agents explain important matters about properties City officials and agents can organize tours of the properties and the owners can select the buyers after holding meetings with the applicants The city provides 200,000 yen in subsidies to the owner as a brokerage fee for the real estate agent and up to 100,000 yen to dispose of household furnishings The buyer receives 500,000 yen in subsidies to register the house and perform other procedures and up to 700,000 yen to renovate the home “We wish to serve as a bridge between homeowners who want to make use of their cherished homes and those who want to live in Uozu,” said an official at the urban planning division of the city government Apartment prices soar in Kyoto; city fears young people will leave Overseas interest rises for Japan’s abundance of vacant homes Ministry OKs Kyoto city’s plan to tax vacant properties Booming tourism driving surge in land prices nationwide Revised law takes effect to reduce ‘akiya’ vacant homes Japan considers tax break review to slash number of vacant homes Information on the latest cherry blossom conditions Please right click to use your browser’s translation function.) A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II In-house News and Messages No reproduction or republication without written permission Amid a decline in population and an increase in vacant houses in the town of Kamiichi in Japan’ Toyama Prefecture the local government launched a system this fiscal year to allow vacant houses to be transferred to new residents free of charge The local government set up a matching site for sellers and would-be buyers and pays both former and new owners a subsidy for necessary expenses once a deal is made It is seen as a win-win project for both those concerned and the municipality which is trying to increase the population and prevent old houses from collapsing Kamiichi’s population as of July 1 was 19,429 and the government has been receiving an increasing number of inquiries from its citizens about how to handle them from people in and outside the prefecture seeking to incorporate farming into their lifestyle Kamiichi has created a website to link the two sides and named it the “Zero-yen vacant house bank.” Residents wishing to give away their house consult with the town which then posts on the website photos of the property and information such as the house’s structural type and year of construction Those who browse the site and take an interest make an inquiry Negotiations up to the transfer will then be conducted directly between the two parties granting the conveyor up to ¥50,000 to cover the disposal of unwanted items and the cost of inheritance procedures if the registered owner is dead and the acquirer up to ¥500,000 on condition of at least two years of residency The municipality will also help repair the building and strengthen its earthquake resistance According to the 2018 Housing and Land Survey there are about 8.49 million vacant houses nationwide and the vacancy rate hit a record 13.6% that year Similar measures to those taken by Kamiichi have been implemented nationwide has set up a website where it acts as a mediator has set up a bank similar to that of Kamiichi’s Mansha Group share the factors how women homebuyers are claiming their space in the market with confidence an exchange4media group publication is one of the most respected real estate magazines in India with offices in Delhi tripti@exchange4media.comrealtyplus@exchange4media.com Following the powerful earthquake that hit central Japan on New Year's Day authorities have started accepting applications for temporary housing in quake-hit municipalities and other areas a total of 27 municipalities in the prefectures of Ishikawa and Toyama have started accepting applications for "deemed temporary housing" provided by the local government about 6,500 vacant public residences are available in municipalities nationwide: ▼Toyama Prefecture ▼Toyama City ▼Takaoka City ▼Uozu City ▼Himi City ▼Numerikawa City ▼Kurobe City ▼Tonami City ▼Oyabe City ▼Nanto City ▼Imizu City ▼Kamiichi Town ▼Tateyama Town ▼Nyuzen Town ▼Asahi Town ▼Niigata Prefecture ▼Niigata City ▼Nagaoka City ▼Sanjo City ▼Shibata City ▼Ojiya City ▼ Kamo City ▼ Tokamachi City ▼Mitsuke City ▼Tsubame City ▼Itoigawa City ▼Gosen City ▼Joetsu City ▼Sado City ▼Minamiuonuma City ▼Tainai City ▼Aga Town ▼Yuzawa Town ▼Fukui Prefecture ▼Fukui City ▼Tsuruga City ▼Obama City ▼Katsuyama City ▼Sabae City ▼Awara City ▼Echizen City ▼Sakai City ▼Heieiji Town ▼Minamiechizen Town ▼Echizen Town ▼Mihama Town ▼Takahama Town ▼Aoi Town Public housing is offered in all 47 prefectures and a list of municipal contact information is available on the Ministry of Land https://www.mlit.go.jp/jutakukentiku/house/jutakukentiku_house_tk3_000149.html (Japanese only) Some municipalities take longer to provide public housing than others Procedures for using deemed temporary housing and moving into public housing provided by local governments are available at each local government office Fans of Mamoru Hosoda's (Summer Wars, Girl Who Leapt Through Time) Wolf Children looking to plan a trip to Japan may be interested in travel agency JTB Corp's latest offering. With help from the local governments in Toyama Prefecture the company has designed a tour that features locations seen in the film Included in the itinerary is an old house in Kamiichi which was used as the reference model for the house that main character Hana moves into with her children tour participants can try their hands at farming and talk to locals about the preservation of the home For those eager to also check out some of the landscapes used in the film the tour will also take participants to places where they can view the Tateyama mountain range The tour is being arranged by JTB, the Toyama prefectural government, and the town offices of Kamiichi and Tateyama. More information can be found here (Japanese) [Source: Asahi Shimbum]