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27 Jun, 10 tweets, 6 min read
🏡While the US faces a shortage of homes, Japan is experiencing a different issue: There's a glut of unoccupied homes throughout the country's rural areas.

insider.com/japan-ghost-to… Photo shows a previously abandoned farmhouse. It’s overlai
These abandoned houses have created "ghost villages" in Japan's rural prefectures where homes can neither be filled nor knocked down.

In some areas, nearly one out of every five homes is empty.

insider.com/japan-ghost-to… Photo shows an aerial view of a renovated akiya. It’s over
💸 The government is offering incentives like $500 homes and tax breaks to entice residents to move from urban centers into rural areas.

But it might not be enough.

insider.com/japan-ghost-to… Photo shows an aerial view of a city in Wakayama. It’s ove
While moving to small towns creates cultural divides and bureaucratic difficulties, the issue is also linked to the birthrate in Japan, which has been on a downward trend since the '70s. 📉

insider.com/japan-ghost-to… Photo shows an aerial view of a city in Wakayama. It’s ove
30 years ago, there was a lot of economic activity in the Japanese countryside.

But the yen kept rising until April 1995, hollowing out the countryside and creating a rust belt area like Ohio's.

insider.com/japan-ghost-to… Photo shows an aerial view of a city in Wakayama. It’s ove
📊Japan has the highest vacancy rates of the 37 countries surveyed in a May report.

Nationally, it has a 14% vacancy rate.
In rural areas, that number spikes to 16% or higher.

insider.com/japan-ghost-to… A photo shows part of Wakayama, Japan. It’s overlaid with
The imbalance between rural and urban Japan has been recognized by the government since the '70s.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga prioritized rural revitalization when he took office in September.

insider.com/japan-ghost-to… Photo shows rice paddy fields. It’s overlaid with a quote
Some regional governments offer renovation subsidies or tax relief measures where buyers pay 1/6 of the annual property tax.

Others launched websites listing akiya for 50,000 yen — $455. 💴

insider.com/japan-ghost-to… A photo shows a dilapidated home in Wakayama, Japan. It’s
For some, like Wakayama resident Uchiyama Seichi, the abundant land is the appeal to move to rural towns. 🌿

But to others, the prefecture is known for something else: just how rural it is.

insider.com/japan-ghost-to… Photo shows Uchiyama Seichi and his wife in front of their c
Still, despite government incentives and an increased interest in teleworking, the pandemic's crippling effect on the tourism sector of Suga's rural revitalization plan makes repopulation unlikely, said McMorran, the NUS professor.

insider.com/japan-ghost-to… A photo shows part of Wakayama, Japan. It’s overlaid with

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Japan appointed a "Minister of Loneliness" this month to tackle the country's rising suicide rates. Here’s a thread 👇
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22 Feb
Singapore's @ChangiAirport was ranked the world's best airport for the eighth year in a row in 2020.

In the pandemic, it has tried to reinvent itself as a domestic tourist destination. See the photos from a recent visit showing it to be mostly empty insider.com/singapore-jewe…
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