OSAKA - Japan's growing number of abandoned homes is creating serious safety hazards for residents and leaving local governments struggling to respond, with some properties having dozens of legal owners and authorities reluctant to spend public money on demolitions when recovering the costs may prove impossible.
The problem was highlighted on October 4 when part of a vacant house collapsed in Osaka's Ikuno Ward, sending exterior walls and debris onto a residential street and temporarily blocking traffic. According to nearby residents, the property had been unoccupied for approximately 20 years.
The owner was eventually identified, and the debris was removed about a week after the collapse. However, the remaining structure has been left standing, with Osaka City saying the decision on whether to demolish it rests with the owner.
The incident is far from isolated. Ikuno Ward has a vacancy rate of 22.8%, meaning more than one in five homes is unoccupied, and several visibly deteriorating properties have raised concerns about public safety.
Near JR Momodani Station, another abandoned house stands beside a busy two-lane road used by large numbers of pedestrians. Much of its interior is exposed, the ceiling is missing, and the remaining wooden pillars appear close to breaking. Fallen debris has already partially obstructed the sidewalk.
Local residents fear the structure could collapse at any moment, particularly following the recent incident elsewhere in the ward.
The danger has also disrupted operations at a nearby school, located just several dozen meters from the property. The abandoned house lies along the shortest route between JR Momodani Station and the school's main entrance, making it a significant concern for students traveling to and from classes.
In January 2025, part of the vacant building collapsed, scattering exterior wall materials and other debris across the sidewalk. To protect students, the school began directing them to use a different entrance.
The school has also had to employ security personnel to manage pedestrian safety. During its cultural festival in September, a security guard was stationed outside the abandoned building throughout the day to warn visitors about the danger.
All associated personnel costs have been borne by the school.
School officials say the situation could discourage prospective students and their parents, who may be concerned about having to pass a dangerous building every day. The institution has been appealing to local authorities for action for approximately 18 months, but little progress has been made.
"We have no choice but to wait for the authorities to act," a school representative said.
Under Japanese law, municipalities can designate buildings at serious risk of collapse as "specified vacant houses," allowing authorities to issue orders and take enforcement measures against owners. In certain circumstances, local governments can arrange demolition through administrative execution, initially paying the costs with public funds before seeking reimbursement from the property owners.
However, recovering demolition expenses can be difficult or impossible, particularly when owners cannot be located, lack sufficient assets, or when ownership is divided among multiple heirs.
These financial and legal obstacles have made municipalities cautious about using their enforcement powers. Osaka City has carried out only one demolition through administrative execution since 2015.
Authorities have not disclosed whether the dangerous property near Momodani Station has been designated a specified vacant house. According to people familiar with the situation, identifying all those with ownership rights has proved difficult, complicating efforts to resolve the problem.
The difficulties become even greater when properties pass through several generations without inheritance arrangements being properly settled.
One particularly complicated case involves an abandoned house in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, first investigated in 2021.
After the property had stood vacant for many years, the municipal government spent approximately 1.2 million yen preparing a family tree to establish its legal ownership.
The investigation revealed that inheritance rights had spread through successive generations, leaving 93 people with ownership interests in the building.
Officials found that many of these individuals were unaware that the property even existed, making negotiations over its future extremely difficult.
When the site was revisited five years later, little had changed.
Vegetation had spread across the roof and surrounding fence, with the structure almost completely hidden beneath thick growth. The deteriorating house remained untouched despite years of administrative efforts.
Himeji City said it had spent five years sending written notices to the 93 heirs but had been unable to contact 21 of them. Without resolving the ownership complications, officials have been unable to proceed with concrete measures.
Although administrative demolition remains an option, the estimated cost of removing the building is approximately 10 million yen, prompting the city to postpone action.
Municipal officials say demolition using taxpayers' money must remain a last resort, warning that routine government intervention could encourage property owners to neglect their responsibilities.
"If people come to believe that the city will eventually take care of everything, that creates a problem," an official said, explaining that authorities must weigh the deterrent effect of enforcement against its financial costs.
Meanwhile, the abandoned property continues to affect the surrounding neighborhood. Residents report large numbers of insects and stray cats occupying the site, while the deteriorating building has become an increasingly unpleasant and potentially dangerous presence.
One resident said the situation had reached the point where people preferred to ignore the property altogether because it had become frightening even to look at.
While many municipalities remain constrained by ownership disputes and limited budgets, Kobe City has introduced a more proactive approach.
The city established a specialized vacant-house team approximately two years ago to address abandoned properties, particularly those with no identifiable owner or whose owners cannot be located.
During a recent inspection, the team visited a vacant building that had been causing problems for nearby residents, including the formation of wasp nests. Kobe has been actively pursuing the removal or disposal of such properties rather than allowing them to deteriorate indefinitely.
The initiative makes use of a legal framework introduced by the national government approximately three years ago for managing land and buildings with unknown owners.
Under the system, a municipality can petition a court to appoint a lawyer as a property administrator. The appointed administrator can then handle matters such as selling or demolishing a building in place of an owner who cannot be identified or located, subject to the necessary legal procedures.
Kobe's specialized team consists of seven members, including lawyers, and has filed 158 applications over approximately two and a half years.
The number is exceptionally high compared with other municipalities across Japan, demonstrating how the legal framework can be used to address long-standing abandoned-property problems.
However, Kobe's approach has also exposed differences in the resources available to local governments.
Establishing dedicated teams, identifying complicated ownership arrangements, preparing court applications, and overseeing property disposal require specialized personnel and significant funding.
As a result, only a limited number of municipalities have been able to implement similar programs.
Officials involved in the Kobe initiative acknowledge that extending the approach nationwide would be difficult under current arrangements and suggest that changes to the legal system may be necessary to make it easier for other municipalities to act.
Japan's abandoned housing problem is expected to intensify as the population declines and the number of inherited properties increases.
Some estimates suggest that approximately one-quarter of all homes in Japan could be vacant by 2043, raising the prospect of more buildings deteriorating beyond repair.
The consequences extend beyond neighborhood appearances and property values. Collapsing walls, falling debris, blocked sidewalks, pests, and unsafe school routes are turning vacant properties into direct threats to public safety.
With responsibility often divided among multiple owners and demolition costs difficult to recover, local governments face mounting pressure to find more effective solutions before abandoned homes cause serious injuries or further disruption to surrounding communities.
Source: MBS
