Quite a number of Singaporeans dream of overseas properties, and a favourite aspiration is Japan. So with news of vacant Japanese homes going for around $500 – or even outright free in some cases – a number of locals may have actually begun pondering the option. It doesn’t seem like a big risk, as it’s just $500 or less right? The reality, as always, is a bit more complex: Why would anyone sell homes for so cheap? While Singapore has a shortage of homes, rural Japan has the opposite problem: in an increasing number of villages, you’ll find akiya (abandoned homes) which no one wants to move into. According to Japan’s Housing and Land Survey, there were close to 8.5 million such abandoned homes in 2018. They literally have more houses than Singapore has people. Having lots of empty, decaying residences everywhere is an eyesore; having lots of them makes a neighbourhood undesirable as a whole...