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This report details business development by Nakagawa Jyuken Corp, which targets the renovation of Kominka in the Kameoka and Nantan city areas of Kyoto Prefecture. Its aim is focused on the growth and revitalization of the regional economy. The company has created a systematic business model, based on experience and know-how, for real estate companies and home builders nationwide. If this program is successful, it could lead to the utilization of vacant houses, as vacant housing is forecasted to dramatically increase in the future. I would like to introduce Nakagawa Jyuken’s business model from a viewpoint that allows it to be seen as the first step toward resolving the vacant housing problem in Japan.

This paper takes Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture, as a case study and, using the exhaustive investigation of vacant housing in the city, describes the distribution of vacant housing within the city and explains its causes. As a result, it has been confirmed that the number and percentage of vacant houses in Utsunomiya City is increasing. This is because along with the widespread use of private cars, the suburbs are becoming centres for living and employment in local cities. Conversely, the city centre is losing its appeal as a place to live and work in. People living in the city centre use cars to drive to the suburbs in order to buy groceries. As the suburbs prosper, the city centre loses its charm, accelerating the increase in vacant housing in built-up areas. The increase of vacant housing in built-up areas is hollowing the city centre and its surrounds. The city is decaying from its core. This is the problem of local city vacant housing.