Demographics and development of housing
In the years following the end of World War II, Japan experienced a severe housing shortage. To meet the demand caused by the rapid increase in urban population, the government responded with a large-scale provision of public housing. New and cheaply built multistory apartment building complexes made of concrete, called “Danchi”, became a symbol of prosperity during the period of economic recovery in the 1960s. The emergence of Danchi had an impact on lifestyles and was accompanied by the transformation of household structures. Multi-generational households living under one roof had been the norm in the pre-war period, but with the mass provision of apartment buildings, the proportion of the population living in nuclear families began to increase.Today, Japan’s population is rapidly aging and shrinking. A sharp population decline with a rising share of single and elderly households is projected for the coming decades. The demographic shift is one of the reasons for a growing share of vacant and abandoned houses across Japan, particularly in rural areas, and has prompted the government to promote home renovations and the utilization of the existing housing stock.
