Harumichi Maruya stops his car on a quiet roadside surrounded by forested hills and lakes on the western edge of Tokyo. He steps out, takes a deep breath and looks around at the landscape. The air, he says, feels fresher than in the crowded capital.
Then he reaches into his backpack and pulls out a colorful flyer showing small cartoon houses and the message: “We take care of everything!” He places it into the mailbox of an abandoned home nearby. The building appears untouched for years. Paint is peeling from the door, the hedge has grown wild and the windows are covered with cobwebs. No light shines from inside.
Maruya, an architect, is trying to revive Okutama, a small town of about 4,500 residents located at the far western edge of Tokyo. Like many communities across Japan, Okutama is facing a rapid population decline that has left hundreds of homes empty.
“Of the 3,000 houses here, 500 are now empty. And every year there are 10 percent more,” Maruya said while driving through the town, where forests, hills and lakes surround aging neighborhoods.
Together with a real estate agent and a property-clearing specialist, Maruya is attempting to convince owners of vacant houses to renovate their properties and put them back on the market. His goal is to prevent further decline and restore value to buildings that have been abandoned.
For Maruya, the issue is not only about architecture or business. He believes towns such as Okutama still have potential because of their natural surroundings and their location close to Tokyo. His campaign is part of a wider effort across Japan to address what has become known as the “akiya mondai,” or the problem of empty houses.
Japan’s demographic changes have accelerated the crisis. Since 2009, the country’s population has fallen by around six million people due to low birth rates and limited immigration. In 2025 alone, Japan lost approximately 920,000 residents, a decline larger than the combined population of Frankfurt and Cottbus.
One visible consequence is the growing number of abandoned homes. Around 14 percent of all residential buildings in Japan now have no residents, and the number continues to increase.
The issue has become a major challenge for communities and policymakers. Vacant buildings can create safety risks, especially during earthquakes and heavy snowfall. Even densely populated Tokyo has faced concerns over empty apartments and problems such as rat infestations.
In smaller towns, the effects are broader. As residents leave, businesses close, schools disappear, tax revenues fall and local infrastructure becomes harder to maintain. Places that once supported active communities risk losing the services and connections that kept them alive.
Researchers studying the phenomenon say the empty-home crisis reflects deeper changes in how people move within the country. Sebastian Polak-Rottmann, an anthropologist researching housing vacancy at the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo, described Japan’s “akiya mondai” as a result of demographic change, internal migration and the declining attractiveness of some rural areas.
In many cases, property owners who have moved away see their old houses as having little value. Instead of investing in repairs or maintenance, some allow the buildings to deteriorate.
The challenge has prompted the Japanese government to experiment with different approaches. Real estate agencies have been allowed to receive higher commissions for selling difficult-to-market vacant houses. Authorities have also increased pressure on owners who fail to maintain properties and have discussed further support for renovations.
However, government policies alone have not solved the problem. Across Japan, local communities are developing their own strategies to give abandoned buildings new purposes.
In Okutama, Maruya argues that the official system for dealing with empty houses has limitations. The town already operates a database where vacant properties can be listed for potential buyers. But he says many owners do not participate because official price limits can make sales unattractive, while the process of clearing abandoned homes can be too demanding for heirs who have already moved away.
His approach focuses on direct solutions. He helps owners understand what renovations could make a property attractive, while his real estate partner works on finding buyers. The first customers have already begun using the service.
Other towns are experimenting with different methods. In Chizu, a rural community in Tottori Prefecture that has lost nearly a quarter of its population over 15 years, local authorities provide subsidies for people purchasing homes and have prepared empty houses for trial stays. The town promotes examples of newcomers transforming unused buildings into businesses, including a brewery and a forest kindergarten.
In Yokoze, a former timber-producing town north of Tokyo, an abandoned bank has been converted into a coworking space. The municipality installed woodworking equipment in the upper floor, allowing businesses to rent facilities for carpentry and related activities. Nearby, another empty building has been turned into a guesthouse for visitors seeking a quieter environment outside the capital.
Some communities have even transformed abandoned houses into cultural attractions. On Takaikamishima Island, where the population has fallen from around 300 residents to only 11, former residents’ families decorated empty houses with manga-style artwork. The project turned the shrinking island into a destination for fans of Japanese comics.
Despite these efforts, many observers believe the broader demographic trend cannot be reversed. Japan’s population decline is considered too significant to stop completely. Instead, communities are focusing on how to adapt and preserve quality of life with fewer residents.
Maruya believes that even shrinking towns can remain valuable. During his work in Okutama, he points to new cafés, renovated buildings and community projects as examples of how abandoned spaces can be given new meaning.
He also sees opportunity in falling property prices. In Japan’s rural areas, homes can cost a fraction of those in major cities. Maruya points to one renovated two-story house with a view of a lake that was purchased by his client for 6.5 million yen, around 35,000 euros.
As vacant houses continue to spread across Japan, towns like Okutama are searching for ways to turn a demographic challenge into a chance for renewal. The empty homes crisis remains a defining issue for the country’s future, but local efforts show how communities are attempting to adapt to a rapidly changing population landscape.
