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...
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...
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...
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’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...
Regional revitalization in Japan can no longer rely on outdated playbooks or misplaced blame. As governors urge more collaboration with the central government, disputes about metrics, marriage rates, and Tokyo’s magnetic pull are obscuring the real issue: without...
When Smart Gets Too Fast, We Yearn for the Wild The more AI enters our lives, the more we feel the pull of the countryside. At Akiyaz, we’ve watched this shift accelerate. As technology grows faster, colder, and more predictive, our clients increasingly crave the...
Rural Japan entrepreneurs are not just wanted, they’re essential. Despite ongoing rural revitalization efforts, most government policies still target families rather than founders. But if the Japanese countryside is to become more than a place of retreat, we...
Our Appearance on the NOS Japan Segment Earlier this month, Akiyaz was featured on a widely viewed NOS Japan segment, where we addressed global curiosity around cheap Japanese houses. Titled “Het geheim achter spotgoedkope huizen in Japan: ‘Het is...
