New system to deal with unused land, buildings

July 30, 2017

TOKYO- Japan's land and infrastructure ministry plans to introduce a new system to help prevent land and buildings mainly in city centers from becoming vacant, informed sources said Sunday. As part of the system, the ministry is studying the idea of enabling local government officials to obtain information in advance about businesses and others, such as supermarkets and hospitals, that are considering suspending or closing their operations so that the officials can persuade them to continue operations or find new operators, the sources said. (Jiji Press)