
22/06/2025
Japan’s Akiya Crisis: A New Opportunity for Malaysia–Japan Cooperation 🇲🇾🤝🇯🇵
"Akiya" (空き家) means vacant or abandoned houses, mostly in rural Japan. As of 2023, Japan has over 9 million akiya, with some prefectures like Wakayama and Tokushima exceeding 20% vacancy rate.
This reflects Japan’s aging population, rural decline, and labor shortage—but it also opens the door for strategic international collaboration.
What can we do together?
🇲🇾 Malaysia has young, skilled, adaptable talent ready for regional exposure.
🇯🇵 Japan has the infrastructure and knowledge but needs manpower and taxpayers in depopulated towns.
Vacant homes can be offered as residences for Malaysian professionals or blue collar workers especially under Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) schemes.
In return, Malaysia benefits from technology transfer in agriculture, eldercare, and green innovation. Not to mention, the ability to create a new job for our young generation in Japan.
There was a meeting I joined in Japan where the official first word was asking whether I am married or not. That's how critical is the need for more human capital in Japan.