In Japanese, Akiya translates to “empty house”. The term refers to a residential property that has been unoccupied for a period of at least six months. Many in Japan have moved from rural ...

After all, it stood in a forest of shoulder-high weeds after being abandoned about seven years earlier — one of the millions of vacant houses known as akiya, Japanese for “empty house ...

Tucked away in Japan’s countryside, millions of abandoned homes – known as akiya – sit empty, waiting for a second life. With ...

"The fact that there are so many empty houses is a blight on ... buying a pre-owned home is unappealing. "The Japanese definitely like to have their own house — preferably a newly built house ...

As Japan’s population ages, a record-breaking number of houses across the country now sit vacant, with many showing unlit windows, walls covered with vines and rooftops crumbling. The number ...