BBC: "What will Japan do with all of its empty ‘ghost’ homes?"

Japan is in a demographic decline, with deaths outpacing deaths births. One of the consequences, as the BBC reports, is a decline in the demand for housing resulting in homes simply being abandoned or left empty as owners die or move away. From the article:

     This is already happening in Japan, where the country’s dramatically ageing population is fuelling a massive inventory of vacant homes. Known as ‘akiya’, these are homes left abandoned without heirs or new tenants. A record high of 13.6% properties across Japan were registered as akiya in 2018, and the problem is predicted to get worse; not only do relatives want to avoid inheriting homes due to Japan’s second-home tax, but there are fewer citizens overall to occupy them.

     Akiya dot the landscape all over Japan, listed in ‘akiya banks’ from Tokyo prefecture to rural Okayama prefecture to mountainous Kumamoto prefecture in Kyushu, at the southern end of the Japanese archipelago. Akiya are particularly concentrated in rural areas as younger generations abandon their roots in favour of settling in cities where there are more opportunities – a phenomenon that’s causing dramatic global population shift around the world.

     In these rural areas where demand for homes is already low, akiya are worth so little that estate agents don’t want to take them on; they can’t make money from fees, which are calculated based on a percentage of the property value. In some cases, especially in the most remote areas, lack of interest means that there isn’t an estate agent to handle these properties at all.

The article goes on to observe that the problem will spread to larger cities--particularly older neighborhoods. Plus, local governments don't have the money to tear down the homes, and are reluctant to do so unless they can get permission from a homeowner, which may be impossible to obtain.