{"id":18133,"date":"2022-02-02T16:02:18","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T07:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/oih2026\/?post_type=library&p=18133"},"modified":"2026-09-27T17:44:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T08:44:52","slug":"library-10278","status":"publish","type":"library","link":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/en\/library\/library-10278\/","title":{"rendered":"Takamitsu Wada"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Facing the growing number of vacant houses head-on to dig deeper into solving the problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Along with the declining birthrate, aging population, and shrinking population, the \u201cvacant house problem\u201d has become a serious social issue. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications\u2019 Housing and Land Survey, there were 8.49 million vacant houses nationwide in 2018, more than double the 3.94 million of 30 years earlier, and the vacancy rate keeps rising every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To solve this big social problem, Akiya Katsuyo Co., Ltd. launched AKIDAS, a data system for making use of vacant houses, in 2018. It is attracting attention as a groundbreaking effort to build a database of every vacant house and vacant lot lying dormant across Japan and provide the information to real estate companies through AKIDAS, and it has now accumulated more than 160,000 records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in October 2021, the company renewed its CI (corporate identity) and completely refreshed its corporate image. In addition to building a database of vacant houses, it has expanded its services to include consulting for vacant house owners and partnerships with local governments, launching an end-to-end platform from uncovering vacant houses to bringing them to market and putting them to use, as it tries to dig deeper and wider into solving the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"akiyakatsuyo\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we call the phase of uncovering the reality of the vacant house problem and building a database \u2018gathering,\u2019 what we are now taking on are the next phases: \u2018moving\u2019 and \u2018deciding.\u2019 We will move beyond our efforts so far, where providing information alone was not enough to solve the problem, and develop services that can actually get things done. This CI renewal expresses the organizational reform for that, and it is also our declaration to society that we will lead the way in solving the vacant house problem,\u201d says CEO Wada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As efforts toward the SDGs and a sustainable society advance, making use of vacant houses has become essential from the standpoint of regional revitalization as well. Inquiries to Wada from owners, businesses, and local governments with high hopes for the new activities have surged, and Wada now spends busy days traveling all over Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"akiyakatsuyo\"\/<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cIf it doesn\u2019t exist, I\u2019ll do it myself!\u201d That is the great force behind new challenges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Akiya Katsuyo is not the first company Wada has started. At 20, Wada took over the late father\u2019s company, but with no knowledge or experience of the business or management at the time, had to close it after about four years, and jumped into the real estate industry to support the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always liked talking with people, and I thought sales suited me. My father was also very caring and loved to talk. Business was not my father\u2019s strong point, but many people were fond of my father. So I worked as hard as I could, wanting to do work that makes people happy too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in 2010, at the age of 34, wanting \u201cto put customers first and propose the best practice for them, rather than chasing sales numbers and quotas,\u201d Wada founded All Peace Co., Ltd. Focusing on vacant houses not on the market, Wada built a business model of negotiating directly with owners and leading to sales and purchases, steadily earning results and trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major turning point then came for Wada: an encounter with Hashima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, known as \u201cGunkanjima\u201d (Battleship Island), which once prospered as a coal mining town. The cutting-edge town where Japan\u2019s first reinforced-concrete housing was built was abandoned when the mine closed and is now a huge ruined town. On a visit there on a study tour for business owners, a fellow business owner asked, \u201cDo you realize that you in the real estate industry are trying to create Gunkanjimas all over Japan?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a shock that left me speechless,\u201d says Wada, who then researched Japan\u2019s vacant house problem again and faced how serious it was. Wada realized that although everyone was calling for measures, almost no companies were actively working on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it doesn\u2019t exist, I\u2019ll do it myself! I don\u2019t want Japan\u2019s future to be a Gunkanjima!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With fresh resolve, Wada came to face head-on the big social issue of Japan\u2019s vacant house problem, and that determination led to the birth of Akiya Katsuyo. At its root was the unchanging resolve, set at 20, to do \u201cwork that makes people happy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Connecting vacant house owners and users, people and towns, the present and the future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Renewing the CI in 2021 and reorganizing the business and organization was nothing other than a continued pursuit of \u201cwork that makes people happy.\u201d
What the company saw over about four years from 2018, through the groundbreaking effort of building a database of vacant houses, was the reality that even when information is \u201cgathered\u201d and provided, it does not lead to the next phases of \u201cmoving\u201d and \u201cdeciding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest reason is that the vacant house problem is not really about things, the houses, but about people. Nothing moves forward unless the owner of a vacant house decides what to do with it, and to do that, owners have to face all kinds of emotional issues: clearing out belongings, relationships among relatives, distrust of the businesses involved, and attachment to the house they lived in for many years. It is, so to speak, interpersonal consulting, and I realized it cannot be solved within the framework of conventional real estate transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why Wada decided to broaden the company\u2019s business domain and actively engage in the \u201cmoving\u201d and \u201cdeciding\u201d phases. With a logo of a horizontal rectangle evoking a \u201cwindow,\u201d based on the hyphen, a symbol of connection shared worldwide, the company declared to the public that it aims to be a \u201cconnector\u201d for solving the problem: connecting vacant house owners and users, people and towns, and the present and the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"akiyakatsuyo\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Wada launched organizational reform. As Wada\u2019s words \u201cfrom the president\u2019s company to everyone\u2019s company\u201d express, the aim is an organization where each person fulfills their role and responsibilities as a stakeholder, with the determination to eventually become a public company that society needs. When something is about to change greatly, some friction is inevitable. With this CI too, in discussions about \u201cthe old way won\u2019t work, so what do we do?\u201d, members raised all kinds of complaints and harsh opinions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRather than seeing them as complaints, I was happy that they were thinking seriously about it as their own business. So I said, \u2018Keep going!\u2019 (laughs) And when the members\u2019 frustrations erupted, we were able to seriously rethink how the organization should work and how we communicate. The new logo, management philosophy, and mission and values are the culmination of everyone\u2019s work,\u201d Wada says with a smile.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Aiming to be a public company that makes people happy and that society needs, 100 or 200 years from now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

However, new challenges come with mountains of unprecedented risks and problems. Going beyond gathering information to talk with each owner, stay close to their feelings, and solve individual problems will require enormous effort and communication skills, as well as broader knowledge and perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Wada says of the situation, \u201cIt\u2019s tough, but I\u2019m enjoying it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have no anxiety, but there are mountains of problems to overcome. Even if you overcome one this month, a new one stands in your way next month; it feels like climbing stairs forever. It is really hard and exhausting, but when you overcome it, a new world comes into view. What feels hard now, you can clear with ease next year, and today\u2019s struggles will surely become funny stories. And when you suddenly look back, you feel you have come really high. That is exactly why you can enjoy it, and why the strength to overcome even bigger problems wells up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the business, Wada has also begun sharing information and raising awareness about making use of vacant houses, through YouTube videos and collaborations with comedians and celebrities. Through this, Wada aims not only to connect more owners and users but also to uncover latent needs related to vacant houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust as, after I got to know OIH, taking part in programs and pitch contests suited to me at the time connected me with investors and business opportunities, I would be happy if we can contribute to society by playing the role of connecting vacant house owners and users,\u201d says Wada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of Japan\u2019s 62.4 million housing units, 8.49 million are now vacant. Of those, 3.49 million are properties that never even reach the market, and their owners are waiting for solutions without knowing whom to consult. To respond head-on to these earnest wishes, Akiya Katsuyo is taking on this big social problem with an eye not only on Japan but on the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"mican-technologies\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur goal is to become a public company, and that means we want to be a company whose spirit lives on not just now, while we are alive, but 100 or 200 years from now. To that end, we want to prove that a company that makes a profit by doing good is truly cutting-edge and truly valuable. There are always challenges and problems in the world, in every era, and solving them through business will be our foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When taking over the late father\u2019s business at 20, Wada says, \u201cI wanted to seriously accomplish and prove the \u2018idealistic\u2019 notion of properly making money with work that makes people happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat feeling is still in me, unchanged. I want to make many people happy and bring people happiness. That is what drives me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interview date: January 14, 2022
(Interview and text: Mitsuko Yamashita)<\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":10280,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/oih2026\/?post_type=library&p=10278","catch_copy":"Taking on the vacant house problem with a new business model! Toward a public company that proves its worth","company":"Akiya Katsuyo Co., Ltd.","sub_catch":""},"library-category":[29,28,97],"class_list":["post-18133","library","type-library","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","library-category-osap","library-category-aplication","library-category-97","en-US"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library\/18133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/library"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"library-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovation-osaka.jp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/library-category?post=18133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}