Why Japanese Real Estate Service Fees Are Necessary for Buyers

When foreign or domestic buyers approach Japan’s countryside housing market, they almost always ask the same question: Why do I need to pay upfront? Isn’t commission enough? The confusion is understandable, but it’s based on an urban-centric misunderstanding of...

Japan Business Closures Reveal Deeper Crisis Than Demographics

Japan business closures have surged, not only in rural towns but also in bustling city corners. While population decline grabs headlines, the small business crisis unfolding is shaped more by systemic inertia, succession problems, and a reluctance to innovate than...

Creative Rural Japan Projects Begin With Media, Not Meetings

Why Rural Prototypes Matter More Than Proposals Creative rural Japan projects begin with story, not scheduling. Those Who Cross the Stillness, a winter music film made in Shinano, doesn’t ask for permission. It simply exists. With snow falling across silent forest...

Benefits of Long Commutes Beyond Japan’s Suburbs

Why More People Are Choosing Long Commutes in Japan In modern Japan, people often assume that long commutes in Japan are a punishment. Crowded trains, packed timetables, and late returns home define the narrative. But a growing number of people are flipping the...

Geothermal Energy in Japan Can Power AI & Develop Rural Regions

Japan’s artificial intelligence ambitions will fail unless the country reforms its power strategy. At Akiyaz, we see this clearly: rural towns overflowing with potential but starved of energy and digital infrastructure. As Paul J. Ashton recently argued, AI doesn’t...

Japan’s Hoarding Problem Is Crippling Real Estate Value and Community Health

Shame, Silence, and the Scourge Within Japan’s hoarding problem is one of the country’s most widespread yet least acknowledged societal crises. Despite its prevalence across both urban and rural landscapes, discussion of it remains limited, stifled by cultural...

Rural Development in Japan Needs Future Thinking, Not False Nostalgia

When people talk about Japan’s shrinking countryside, they often reach for one phrase: rural development. But all too often, it gets replaced with “revitalization,” a term soaked in false nostalgia. That word choice matters. “Revitalization” assumes that rural Japan...

Akiya Market: Foreign Investment & Japanese Rural Revitalization

The recent Bloomberg article, “It’s Too Easy for Foreigners to Buy Property in Japan,” highlights growing concern about foreign investment in Japan, particularly in the akiya market, or Japan’s vast inventory of vacant homes. At Akiyaz, we take these...

Public-Private Toleration, Vacant Properties, and Rural Development

How Private Sector Initiatives and Vacant Properties Empower Rural Communities In Japan’s countryside, public-private toleration is the new frontier of rural development. By allowing private initiatives room to innovate, governments enable transformative projects on...

Japan Consumption Tax Debate & Rural Revitalization Strategies

Japan’s consumption tax has been politically sacrosanct since its 1989 introduction to temper asset-price speculation. Past hikes coincided with economic contractions, embedding a deep public aversion to adjustments. To move beyond stale debates, tax discussions must...