22.10.2026 21:10
In Japan, the aging population and the decline in young people to take over businesses have ushered in a remarkable period in the country. Thousands of shopkeepers who want to retire are handing over the shops they have devoted years to, along with the goods inside, for free or for symbolic fees. While more than 42,000 businesses in the country await new owners, some of the vacant homes, whose number has reached 9 million, are also being given away free of charge under certain conditions.
The rapid aging of Japan's population has created an unusual picture in both commercial life and the housing market. Shops that have been operated for years and homes left without owners are being offered free of charge or at low prices in order to find new owners.
MORE THAN 42,000 SHOPS ARE WAITING FOR NEW OWNERS
In Japan, one of the world's fastest-aging countries, the future of small businesses has become a serious problem. As elderly shopkeepers enter retirement and the number of young people to take over family businesses decreases, thousands of workplaces face the danger of closure. According to a survey by the Japan Finance Corporation, 57.4 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises are at risk of closure when their owners retire. Shopkeepers who do not want to close their businesses have found the solution on transfer platforms. On these platforms, more than 42,000 shops and businesses are waiting for new owners. While the majority of business owners posting listings are in the 60-70 age group, most of those taking over the businesses are between 30 and 40.
THEIR ONLY WISH IS THAT YEARS OF HARD WORK NOT GO TO WASTE
A significant portion of Japanese shopkeepers, when transferring their business, care more about the business continuing than about making a high profit. For this reason, some shops are transferred free of charge or at very low prices together with their furniture, kitchen equipment, special recipes, and existing supplier connections. New operators, instead of setting up a business from scratch, can use the ready-made infrastructure of a business that has been operating for years.
HE TOOK OVER A 37-YEAR-OLD CAFE WITH EVERYTHING INSIDE IT
One of the striking examples of this practice took place in Hiroshima. Kengo Ohama, 31, took over the cafe called Country Road, which had been operating in the city of Mihara for 37 years, from an elderly couple. As part of the transfer, the furniture, kitchen equipment, special recipes, and supplier network also passed to Ohama. The business, with a monthly rent of 50,000 yen, reopened its doors on April 14, 2026, with a new coffee-focused concept. According to a report in Businessinsider, similarly, 29-year-old Kota Fujisawa left his desk job in Tokyo and took over a guesthouse in Nagano at a low price, along with its name and operating system. Former civil servant Takayuki Otawara also bought the greenhouse and irrigation equipment of an elderly farming family and began producing cocoa and strawberries.
NOT ONLY SHOPS, BUT HOUSES ARE ALSO BEING GIVEN AWAY FOR FREE
The demographic change in Japan does not affect only businesses. Millions of homes in the country are also standing empty. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' 2023 Housing and Land Survey, the number of vacant homes reached 9 million, setting a record. 13.8 percent of the country's homes are vacant. Among the reasons for this increase is that homes are left without owners as a result of elderly people living alone passing away or moving to nursing homes.
CONDITIONS ARE IMPOSED ON THOSE WHO WANT TO GET A FREE HOUSE
Local governments use listing systems called "akiya banks" to ensure that vacant homes are reused. Although some homes on these platforms are offered free of charge, the application conditions vary by region. For example, in Okutama, free homes can be given to people under 40 or to young families with at least one child. However, the new owners must commit to settling permanently in the area.