Why are 90 lakh homes in Japan vacant? Report says…

14% of all residential properties in Japan are vacant, as per the figures compiled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The number of vacant houses in Japan has climbed to nine million, that's more than the number of persons residing in the New York City. Experts say that Japan's declining population is the cause of this significant rise in houses without people. 14% of all residential properties in Japan are vacant, as per the figures compiled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, reported CNN.

The number of vacant houses in Japan has climbed to nine million, more than the number of persons residing in the New York City. (Getty Images)

Such abandoned houses are known as "Akiya," and were known to be found in rural areas of Japan. But now such houses can be found in big Japanese cities like Tokyo and Kyoto.

“This is a symptom of Japan’s population decline. It’s not really a problem of building too many houses” but “a problem of not having enough people,” Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba told CNN.

Notably, Japan has been facing an aging population and witnessing low birth rate.

Among the abandoned homes are second homes of people, properties temporarily vacated while their owners work overseas and those left empty for other reasons.

Due to low fertility rates in Japan, many Akiya owners have no heir to pass their house to. At times, Akiyas are inherited by younger generations who have moved to the cities and don't want to return to rural areas.

Jeffrey Hall further informed that even if owners want to sell such abandoned houses, they might have a hard time finding buyers.

“Many of these houses are cut off from access to public transport, health care and even convenience stores,” he said.

Hall further highlighted how difficult it is for a foreigner to buy the Akiyas in Japan. He said that administrative work and the rules behind buying such houses is not easy for somebody who doesn’t speak Japanese and read Japanese very well.

“They’re not going to be able to get these houses for cheap,” he said.