Number of housing units in Japan 1963-2018

In 2018, there were approximately 62.4 million dwellings in Japan. Japan’s housing stock has constantly grown over the past decades.

Japan’s housing stock

Single-family homes made up the largest part of Japan’s housing stock, followed by apartments. While around 53.6 million housing units were occupied, a comparably large share of dwellings were vacant. Communities across Japan are faced with a growing number of abandoned homes whose owners are unknown. Given the rapidly shrinking population, rural depopulation, and the large supply of new homes every year, the proportion of empty homes in Japan is likely to further increase over the coming years.

How big are homes in Japan on average?

While the size of homes may largely vary depending on the type and geographical location, an average occupied home in Japan had a floor area of 93.04 square meters and 4.4 rooms in 2018, with rented dwellings being much smaller than owned homes. Toyama Prefecture recorded the largest average floor size per dwelling. Not surprisingly, the smallest and most expensive homes could be found in the overpopulated metropolis of Tokyo.