In Japanese, Akiya translates to “empty house”. The term refers to a residential property that has been unoccupied for a ...

In the pursuit of homeownership, Americans are flocking to rural Japan, where an abundance of empty houses, known as akiya, sit with shockingly low price tags. Dotted mostly throughout the country ...

With a low fertility rate, ageing population and homes that swiftly drop in value, around nine million properties lie empty ...

The number of these “akiya” (vacant) houses has reached 9 million nationwide, or 13.8 percent of the total number of homes in Japan, a government survey released on April 30 showed.

Like in many other countries, depopulation outside big cities is becoming a major issue in Japan and as a result, vacant houses are everywhere nationwide. Empty houses are called Akiya in Japanese ...

Some people even associate these homes with superstition, "believing they might be haunted or bring bad luck." Ultimately, "many Japanese [people] look at akiya as depreciating items that are more ...

After living on a small urban farm near New Orleans and spending 15 months house- and pet-sitting their way around Mexico, ...

"Probably within a month of living in the apartment, my next goal was to buy a house quickly and get out of there," Chani said. Related stories Turning an akiya into a home Japan has about 8.5 ...

There are more than 8.5 million akiya, or abandoned homes, in rural Japan, according to the country's 2018 Housing and Land Survey, its most recent on record. By some counts, there are many more.

Dani and Evan Benton purchased two abandoned properties in Japan and have embarked on a full-scale rejuvenation.