What the MEXT Survey Shows
Scope and reference date of the survey, the counts from 8,850 closed schools down to the 5,661 in use, how to compare with the previous survey, and the Minna no Haiko Project
Schools closed between FY2004 and FY2023
8,850 schools
The previous survey (FY2002 to FY2020) counted 8,580
Closed schools whose buildings still stand
7,612 schools
Excluding the 1,238 with no remaining facility
Share of those still standing that are in use
74.4%
5,661 schools. The previous survey found 74.1%
Schools among the 1,951 not in use that have no decided use
1,503 schools
19.7% of those still standing
MEXT tracks the number and use of closed schools in its Survey on the Utilization of Closed School Facilities. It covers public elementary, junior high, compulsory education, high, secondary and special needs schools nationwide, and asks about the number of closed schools, how they are used, and the status of review toward use. Results as of 1 May 2024 were published on 31 March 2025, and the previous survey was as of 1 May 2021.
| Item | This survey (as of 1 May 2024) | Previous survey (as of 1 May 2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Closure years covered | FY2004 to FY2023 | FY2002 to FY2020 |
| Closed schools | 8,850 | 8,580 |
| Buildings still standing | 7,612 (86.0%) | 7,398 (86.2%) |
| In use | 5,661 (74.4%) | 5,481 (74.1%) |
| Not in use | 1,951 (25.6%) | 1,917 (25.9%) |
| No remaining facility | 1,238 (14.0%) | 1,182 (13.8%) |
The figures come from Appendix 3 on the use of closed school facilities. Shares for buildings still standing and for no remaining facility are of all closed schools; shares for in use and not in use are of buildings still standing.
The two surveys cover closure years two years apart. This survey drops the schools that closed in FY2002 and FY2003 and adds the 1,025 that closed from FY2021 to FY2023, after the previous survey. The differences between the two cannot be read directly as increases or decreases.
In September 2010 MEXT launched the Minna no Haiko Project (Everyone's Closed School Project), which gathers and publishes information on closed school facilities nationwide that are looking for new uses, holds events to promote reuse, and introduces reuse cases.
How Fast Schools Are Closing
Closures by year, school and enrolment counts in the FY2025 School Basic Survey, projected population at school ages, and MEXT's consolidation pamphlet
Closures by Year
Dividing 8,850 schools by the 20-year period gives an average of about 442 a year. That roughly matches the Minna no Haiko Project page, which says about 450 school facilities close nationwide each year, but it is a 20-year average and recent years fall below it. Read year by year, the same survey shows 279 to 405 closures a year since FY2016, never reaching 450, and 384, 345, 369, 358 and 298 for FY2019 through FY2023. Use the year-by-year figures when setting a baseline for a business plan.
Schools and Children
As of 1 May 2025, there were 18,291 public elementary schools, 215 fewer than the year before, and 8,982 public junior high schools, 51 fewer, while public compulsory education schools rose by 22 to 254. Enrolment across national, public and private schools was 5,812,375 at elementary level, down 129,358, and 3,105,297 at junior high level, down 35,835, both record lows.
In the five-year age brackets of the Institute's result tables, adding the 5-9 and 10-14 brackets gives 9.68 million in 2025 and 7.19 million in 2050. That is roughly 26 percent fewer over 25 years. These are the ages that fill elementary and junior high schools.
In March 2025 MEXT issued a pamphlet, To Those Considering the Consolidation of Public Elementary and Junior High Schools, based on its 2015 guidebook on the appropriate size and placement of public elementary and junior high schools. Among examples of problems that often arise with consolidation and ways to handle them, it lists passing on the school's role as a local hub, and includes the use of closed school facilities under that heading.
What Closed Schools Are Used For
Use counts by category, tallied separately for school buildings and gymnasiums as multiple responses (10,348 in total), with the previous survey counts
The survey counts the uses of closed schools that are in use. It tallies school buildings and gymnasiums separately, with multiple responses, so the counts add up to 10,348, more than the 5,661 schools in use. Shares are of those 10,348 counts, not of schools.
| Use | Count (share) | School buildings | Gymnasiums | Previous survey (share) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schools (excluding universities) | 4,191 (40.5%) | 2,110 | 2,081 | 3,948 (39.1%) |
| Social sports facilities | 1,693 (16.4%) | 155 | 1,538 | 1,756 (17.4%) |
| Social education and cultural facilities | 1,206 (11.7%) | 750 | 456 | 1,330 (13.2%) |
| Welfare and medical facilities, etc. | 735 (7.1%) | 533 | 202 | 774 (7.7%) |
| Corporate facilities and start-up support facilities | 1,207 (11.7%) | 789 | 418 | 1,020 (10.1%) |
| Government offices, etc. | 449 (4.3%) | 323 | 126 | 461 (4.6%) |
| Hands-on and exchange facilities, etc. | 535 (5.2%) | 349 | 186 | 520 (5.1%) |
| Emergency stockpile warehouses | 231 (2.2%) | 158 | 73 | 199 (2.0%) |
| Universities | 81 (0.8%) | 47 | 34 | 79 (0.8%) |
| Housing | 20 (0.2%) | 13 | 7 | 21 (0.2%) |
The largest category, schools excluding universities at 4,191, splits almost evenly between 2,110 school buildings and 2,081 gymnasiums. Of the 1,693 social sports facilities, 1,538 are gymnasiums. Compared with the previous survey, corporate facilities and start-up support facilities went from 1,020 to 1,207, and social education and cultural facilities from 1,330 to 1,206. As noted above, the two surveys cover different closure years. The survey does not break schools excluding universities down any further, so the table cannot tell whether a building became the merged school or a different kind of school.
The 1,951 Schools Not in Use
Use decided, not decided and scheduled for demolition; the closure years of those with no decided use; the eight reasons uses stay undecided
Three Groups
The 1,951 schools not in use divide into 235 whose use has been decided, 1,503 whose use has not, and 213 scheduled for demolition.
| Group | This survey | Previous survey |
|---|---|---|
| Use decided | 235 (3.1%) | 278 (3.8%) |
| Use not decided | 1,503 (19.7%) | 1,424 (19.2%) |
| Scheduled for demolition | 213 (2.8%) | 215 (2.9%) |
Shares are of closed schools whose buildings still stand (7,612 in this survey, 7,398 in the previous one).
Closure Years of the Schools with No Decided Use
By the year they closed, the 1,503 schools with no decided use peak at 129 for FY2023, followed by 118 for FY2022. FY2004 accounts for 66 and FY2013 for 75, and adding FY2004 through FY2013 gives 605.
Why Uses Stay Undecided
The reasons are multiple responses, tallied separately for school buildings (n=2,177) and gymnasiums (n=1,994).
| Reason (multiple answers) | School buildings (n=2,177) | Gymnasiums (n=1,994) |
|---|---|---|
| No requests from the community or others | 903 (41.5%) | 795 (39.9%) |
| The building has aged | 902 (41.4%) | 749 (37.6%) |
| Funding cannot be secured | 327 (15.0%) | 275 (13.8%) |
| Poor location | 387 (17.8%) | 299 (15.0%) |
| Legal restrictions depending on the use | 126 (5.8%) | 104 (5.2%) |
| Unsure how to use it | 137 (6.3%) | 100 (5.0%) |
| No review of use has been carried out | 189 (8.7%) | 217 (10.9%) |
| Other | 615 (28.2%) | 550 (27.6%) |
For school buildings, no requests from the community and an aged building sit one response apart, and other reasons account for 28.2%. Which of the two applies changes the next step. If no one has asked for the building, start by looking for someone to lease and use it, for example through market sounding. If the building has aged, get the seismic assessment and a renovation cost estimate first, and compare them with demolition.
Hearing from Residents and What Research Shows
How residents were asked for their views, the guidebook advice on doing so, and the abstracts of Funase et al. (2021), Ota et al. (2024) and Davis et al. (2023)
Asking Residents for Their Views
The survey also asks whether local residents were asked for their views on using the closed school. For 49.6% of school buildings (n=7,211) and 53.9% of gymnasiums (n=7,144), they had not been.
| How views were sought (multiple answers) | School buildings (n=7,211) | Gymnasiums (n=7,144) |
|---|---|---|
| Questionnaire survey | 479 (6.6%) | 413 (5.8%) |
| Hearings at briefings and similar | 2,782 (38.6%) | 2,500 (35.0%) |
| Other | 739 (10.2%) | 717 (10.0%) |
| Not done | 3,580 (49.6%) | 3,850 (53.9%) |
The small concession guidebook issued in May 2026 lists questionnaires, hearings, workshops and briefings as ways to get residents' views, and suggests choosing by purpose: hearings or workshops to pull together the views of a small group, questionnaires to hear from many people, and briefings to build understanding of the project. It warns that agreeing a specific direction with the community can make other uses hard if that function proves unviable as a business, and suggests offering several functions as options or agreeing on a broader image, such as a function that draws visitors.
Three Studies
Funase et al. (2021) is a research report in the proceedings of the City Planning Institute of Japan's Kansai Branch. According to its abstract, it drew the features of community participation from 76 excellent cases of closed school reuse nationwide, then traced the process from review to operation in four excellent cases in Hyogo Prefecture. About half of the national cases involved community participation. The study found it effective for the community to form an organization and review options together with the municipality, to use workshops and social experiments on a base of consensus-building in meetings, and to bring in experts and young people for flexible thinking.
Ota et al. (2024) analyses TSUKU-RASSERU, a community hub in a closed school in the mountainous part of Toyota City, using published materials and observation. Its abstract reports three findings: continuous relationships among local entities have created diverse activities, the hub plays the role of a catalyst for new activities, and most connections among the entities come from activities in the free-use spaces on the ground floor.
Davis et al. (2023) starts from the more than 650 public schools that closed in Puerto Rico between 2007 and 2019, and categorizes and maps 161 repurposed schools, 38 of which were "rescued schools" repurposed through grassroots, voluntary initiatives. Drawing on twelve interviews and two focus groups, it describes the challenges of gaining school ownership and attracting sustained financial and volunteer support, and argues that government authorities can reduce the harm of closures by forging new partnerships among community-based organizations, municipal governments and other supportive actors.
National Moves in 2026
Results and future of the surplus classroom survey, the closed-school case in the small concession guidebook, and two school studies in the formation project
The Surplus Classroom Survey Will Not Be Repeated
A surplus classroom is one not currently used as a regular classroom that, given the child population living in the school district, is not expected to be used as a regular classroom within the next five years (by the end of FY2030). The FY2025 survey, published on 10 April 2026, counted 74,138 surplus classrooms in public elementary and junior high schools, 891 more than the 73,247 of the previous survey in 2021. Of these, 72,902 (about 98.3%) were in use: 69,468 as facilities of the same school, 3,094 as non-school facilities such as after-school children's clubs, and 340 as facilities of other schools such as special needs schools. The same document says repeated surveys have shown that surplus classrooms are being used nationwide and continuously, that the survey has largely served its purpose, and that no further rounds will be conducted unless circumstances change. It says nothing about the future of the closed school survey.
A Closed School in the Guidebook
Small concessions are described in the guidebook issued by MLIT and the Cabinet Office in May 2026 as efforts in which local governments work with private operators to use idle public facilities they own, such as closed schools and vacant houses, to solve local issues and raise the value of the area, with project costs in principle under about ¥1 billion.
Case 2 in the guidebook is a former elementary school in Komatsu City, Ishikawa, which closed in March 2018. Its building had been made earthquake-resistant in a major renovation in 2011. The city chose a self-financing designated manager arrangement that pays no management fee, and ordered the renovation work separately so as not to raise the bar for local firms to take part. Because of restrictions tied to subsidies used in past renovations, it drew up a regional revitalization plan and used a scheme that waives repayment to the national treasury. The project runs for about ten years, from March 2021 to March 2031. Public costs were about ¥560 million for renovation work and up to ¥31 million for design, and the subsidy used was the Comprehensive Support Program for Vacant House Measures (¥265 million). The building houses lodging, a restaurant and rental space.
Two School Studies in the Formation Project
MLIT's Small Concession Formation Promotion Project sends experts to local governments that plan to use idle public facilities such as closed schools and old houses, to help solve problems at the early stage of a project. Nine studies are under way in FY2026. Two of them cover schools: a study on reusing a former elementary school with a community hub function in Iwata City, Shizuoka, and a study on reusing a former high school by Yamaguchi Prefecture with Ube City.
Latest Trends and Statistics in Abandoned School Revitalization【2026 Edition】
Uses whose counts changed between MEXT's two surveys, plus national measures and subsidy programs
MLIT's Small Concession Guidebook Explained — Three Walls, VFM Exemption, and Contract Risks [May 2026 Release]
The guidebook's three walls, four cases, steps and simplified procedures, and support programs
Transforming Idle Public Real Estate from Liability to Asset — A Municipal Strategy Guide [2026 Edition]
The state of idle public real estate, options for use, subsidies and support, failure patterns, and steps from inventory to solicitation
What to do next
In the order you can act on them, within the week you read this.
| # | What to do | Where | Rough effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find at least one occupant first. Decide who takes the space, then decide the use | Market sounding, local operators | 1–3 months |
| 2 | Produce the seismic assessment and asbestos survey. Commission them if they do not exist | Your facilities team | 2–3 months |
| 3 | Get a renovation cost estimate based on step 2, and price demolition alongside it | A design office | One month |
| 4 | Check the property disposal procedure. Using a subsidized school building for a non-school purpose within the restricted period needs MEXT approval (a report is enough where the requirements are met) | Board of education, MEXT | 1–2 months |
| 5 | Hold a briefing with alumni and community groups before announcing the use | Alumni association, neighbourhood association | One month |
Skip step 1 and you end up with a decided use and no one to take it.
References
Results of the FY2024 Survey on the Utilization of Closed School Facilities (as of 1 May 2024) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2025)
Minna no Haiko Project — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
Results of the FY2025 Survey on the Utilization of Surplus Classrooms (as of 1 May 2025) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
Publication of the FY2025 School Basic Survey — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2025)
To Those Considering the Consolidation of Public Elementary and Junior High Schools — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2025)
Population Projections for Japan: 2023 Estimate, result tables — National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (2023)
Research on the process of community participation in excellent case of closed school’s utilization — Yuzuki Funase, Kaoru Matsuo, Shigeaki Takeda, Hiroyuki Kaga (2021). Proceedings of The City Planning Institute of Japan, Kansai Branch, Vol. 19, pp. 65–68
THE ROLE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COMMUNITY HUB REUSING THE CLOSED SCHOOL IN THE MOUNTAINOUS AREA BY DIVERSE ENTITIES -Case study of “TSUKU-RASSERU” in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan- — Masaya Ota, Yan Li, Hisashi Komatsu (2024). Journal of Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ), Vol. 89, No. 822, pp. 1414–1425
Puerto Rico’s Rescued Schools: A Grassroots Adaptive Reuse Movement for Abandoned School Buildings — Davis, John-Michael; Reyes, Mariana; Abrogar, Jacob; Bourgoin, Jocelyn; Brown, Madison; Kellum, Evelyn; Polito, Francis; Jiusto, Scott (2023). Social Sciences 12(12), 662
スモールコンセッションのすすめ～遊休公的施設の利活用のための手引き～ (Recommending Small Concessions: A Guidebook for Utilizing Idle Public Facilities) — Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; Cabinet Office (2026)
Small Concession Formation Promotion Project — Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2026)
廃校再生ストーリーズ (Closed School Revival Stories)
菊地敦己 (planning, structure and design); 伊藤総研 (editor-in-chief) (2018)
美術出版社, 279 pages (in Japanese)
Affiliate link — purchases support Institute for Social Vision Design activities
廃校の民間活用と地域活性化 (Private Use of Closed Schools and Regional Revitalization)
波出石誠 (2015)
日本評論社, 198 pages (in Japanese)
Affiliate link — purchases support Institute for Social Vision Design activities
先進事例から学ぶ 成功する公共施設マネジメント (Successful Public Facility Management: Lessons from Advanced Cases)
南学 (ed.) (2016)
学陽書房, 261 pages (in Japanese)
Affiliate link — purchases support Institute for Social Vision Design activities
