Akiya banks are databases of vacant or abandoned homes in Japan where owners and local governments can list properties for sale and buyers can search for vacant homes to buy. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://resources.realestate.co.jp/buy/akiya-banks-in-japan-links-to-vacant-house-databases-by-prefecture/ ] A house is made with walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams. - Ralph Waldo Emerson Japan’s 8.5 million abandoned rural homes, or akiya, have become a ‘cheap’ option for foreigner owners ·          A push into the city and population decline are two reasons they sit empty, as well as the Japanese preference to newly built homes rather than pre-owned ·          Locals see them as a burden, while foreigners view them as an opportunity to own property for as little as US$23,000 Read more here: https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3249648/japans-85-million-abandoned-rural-homes-or-akiya-have-become-cheap-option-foreigner-owners             As