Early-Career Scholar Forum

Emerging Challenges of Unoccupied Houses in Japan

Date
Friday, 4 March 2022 | 12:15 - 13:00 (JST)
Venue
Zoom Meeting
Language
English
Speakers
  • Yuko Nakata Project Research Associate of Transnational Law, Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, the University of Tokyo
Moderator
  • Masayuki Tamaruya Professor, Graduate Schools for Law and Politics, The University of Tokyo
Event Description

This research analyzes legal issues that have contributed to the growing number of unoccupied properties in Japan and proposes how the Japanese government should manage them with trust. Unoccupied houses have become an important concern in the aging society of Japan. It is said that unoccupied properties adversely affect the community environment. They are at a high risk of collapsing and could be hotbeds of crimes. The existence of unoccupied properties also reduces the value of surrounding areas. Local governments and the Land Bank of the Public-Private Partnership have tried to take measures to this problem, but they are not effective because of the lack of enforcement. It has been believed that local governments cannot address the problem and exercise coercive power on owners of unoccupied properties under the current legal system. However, this research argues that, even within their limited authority, local governments could take effective measures by utilizing trust.

About the Speaker

Yuko Nakata is a program-specific assistant professor of Transnational Law at the University of Tokyo Graduate Schools for Law and Politics. Her academic interests include the enforceable rights of the mortgagee (the secured creditor) and the effectiveness of foreclosure procedures in mortgage laws. Her current research focuses on the legal issues of unoccupied houses after the foreclosure procedure. She obtains a B.A. at Doshisha University, a Master in Laws at the University of Tokyo, and an LL.M. at the University of London Queen Mary.