There were some 8.2 million vacant houses — or one in seven — nationwide as of October 2013. This record number represents more than a twofold increase over the past 25 years. A new law aimed at coping with problems related to them took effect on Monday. Both the public and private sectors need to work out measures under the law to reduce the hazards posed by vacant houses such as fires and collapse but also to reduce their numbers.

Behind the increase in empty houses is the graying of the nation's population and a population flight to urban areas. When aging rural residents die or move to nursing homes, their houses end up unoccupied because their children, who often live and work in cities, have no interest in moving back.

More than 400 municipalities have enacted by-laws to deal with vacant houses. In response to calls for similar efforts on the national level, the Abe administration initiated the new law, which the Diet enacted in November. Targeted by the law are vacant houses that are in danger of collapse, contain garbage that poses health risks, or are deemed to be blighted. Once such properties are categorized as "specially designated vacant houses," municipality officials can enter them and identify their owners by using fixed-assets tax information. The municipalities can then request the owners to eliminate the hazards and if they refuse to comply, the municipal authorities can demolish the houses.