@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ Throughout Japan, there have been increasing numbers of abandoned houses, or 空
One of the most apparent causes for the number of abandoned houses is Japan's aging and shrinking population. Japan has the highest proportion of seniors in the world[cite:@japantimes:19:elderly-citizens-account-for] at a quarter, and it is increasing, being projected to hit a third of the population by 2050.[cite:@ilc:aging-in-japan] Despite the overall decline in population, major metropolitan centers such as Tokyo are growing due to internal migration from more rural areas.
What this means is that people are leaving their older relatives behind at their family homes in the countryside to move to the city, and when those relatives pass away there is nobody left to take care of them. Because of depopulation and lack of interest in rural areas, the value of the property is very low, so not wanting to pay property tax, the family refuses to inherit the property and it goes into public domain. One example of such a house is documented in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDce1pVnwFU][this video]] on the YouTube channel /Bitsii in inaka/ (田舎 /inaka/ means countryside). The previous owner, an old woman named Yumi-san, passed away years prior, and the house went vacant.
What this means is that people are leaving their older relatives behind at their family homes in the countryside to move to the city, and when those relatives pass away there is nobody left to take care of them. Because of depopulation and lack of interest in rural areas, the value of the property is very low, so not wanting to pay property tax, the family refuses to inherit the property and it goes into public domain. One example of such a house is documented in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDce1pVnwFU][this video]] on the YouTube channel /Bitsii in inaka/ (田舎 /inaka/ means countryside). The previous owner, an old woman named Yumi-san, passed away years prior, and the house went vacant.
Why are younger generations from more rural areas moving to the city and never coming back? A big factor is the job and education opportunities available in larger cities. For example, during and after the post-war American occupation in the 1950s and 1960s, there was a migration of people from rural areas to cities in search for jobs and education, and although this has slowed down, there remain vastly more opportunities in cities than in the countryside.[cite:@doland:japan-a-country-study]
