Thanks to a multitude of factors — the weak yen, inbound tourism and the proliferation of YouTube channels on the subject, to name a few — akiya, or abandoned houses, are more prominent than ...

The Nomura Research Institute puts the number at more than 11 million, and predicts that akiya could exceed 30% of all houses in Japan by 2033.

Tucked away in Japan’s countryside, millions of abandoned homes – known as akiya – sit empty, waiting for a second life. With property prices often shockingly low, these forgotten houses ...

UOZU, Toyama Prefecture—A woman in her 40s was pleasantly pleased after taking a tour of a home up for sale. The two-story wooden structure, built about 60 years ago, boasts five bedrooms and ...

Municipalities across Japan can tackle the blight of "akiya" abandoned vacant homes under a revised law that took effect on Dec. 13 aimed at penalizing neglectful property owners. Under the ...