TOKYO, May 1 (Xinhua) :
The number of vacant homes in Japan has climbed to a fresh record of 9 million as of October 2023, up by 510,000 from the previous survey conducted in 2018, latest government data showed.
The tally also made up a record 13.8 percent of the total number of homes in the country, meaning that one in about seven homes is abandoned, according to the internal affairs ministry survey published Tuesday.
The rising number can be attributed to an increase in cases where properties are left unattended because single elderly dwellers die or move to nursery homes, according to the ministry.
Of the 9 million unoccupied dwellings, the majority at 4.43 million are available for rent, while 330,000 are for sale and 380,000 are empty second dwellings such as vacation homes. The status of the remaining 3.85 million is unknown, up by 370,000 from the previous survey.
The Housing and Land Survey is carried out every five years since 1948.
The number of vacant homes stood at 1.72 million in 1973, when comparable data became available, accounting for 5.5 percent of total houses. The figure rose to 4.48 million in 1993, and has doubled in the past 30 years, according to the ministry data.
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