Latest Statistics Overview
8,850 abandoned schools and their utilization. The rate is almost unchanged from the previous survey, and 1,503 schools have no decided use
Cumulative school closures in Japan, FY2004–FY2023 (March 2025 survey)
8,850 schools
Closed school buildings currently unused (25.6% of remaining)
1,951 schools
School closures in FY2023 (latest)
298 closures
The five-year average is 351. No year since FY2016 has reached 450
Abandoned School Generation and Cumulative Count
Cumulative closures from FY2004 to FY2023 have reached 8,850. That averages 443 a year, but the spread between years is wide. In the same survey's year-by-year table, the peak year is FY2012 at 597 and the latest year, FY2023, is 298. No year since FY2016 has reached 450. The average over the last five years (FY2019–FY2023) is 351.
MEXT's own "Minna no Haiko" project page states that about 450 school facilities close every year. That does not match the ministry's own year-by-year data. When sizing a market, use the annual figures rather than the 450.
Of the 8,850 cumulative closures, 5,799 were elementary schools, 1,835 middle schools and 1,216 high schools and others. By prefecture, Hokkaido has the most, at 859.
Utilization Status
Of the 7,612 closed schools that still stand, 5,661 (74.4%) have been put to use and 1,951 (25.6%) remain unused.
The utilization rate in the previous survey (as of 1 May 2021) was 74.1%, almost the same as now. Of the unused schools, 1,503 (19.7%) have no decided use, up from 1,424 (19.2%). By year of closure, schools with no decided use number 89 for FY2021, 118 for FY2022 and 129 for FY2023, the highest of any year.
Distribution by Use Type
The survey sets out counts by use (multiple answers allowed) for the current and previous surveys. The eight largest are below.
| Use (multiple answers) | Current (as of 1 May 2024) | Previous (as of 1 May 2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Schools (excluding universities) | 4,191 | 3,948 |
| Community sports facilities | 1,693 | 1,756 |
| Business and start-up facilities | 1,207 | 1,020 |
| Social education and cultural facilities | 1,206 | 1,330 |
| Welfare and medical facilities | 735 | 774 |
| Experience and exchange facilities | 535 | 520 |
| Government offices | 449 | 461 |
| Emergency stockpile warehouses | 231 | 199 |
The previous survey counted schools closed in FY2002 to FY2020, and the current one schools closed in FY2004 to FY2023. Part of any difference comes from the change in which schools are counted.
How Uses and Policies Are Moving
Uses whose counts changed since the previous survey, and what can be confirmed about mixed uses, experience and exchange facilities, and Small Concession
Use as Business Facilities
As the table shows, business and start-up facilities rose from 1,020 to 1,207. Within that, facilities of companies and other organizations rose from 947 to 1,138, and start-up support facilities went from 73 to 69. The survey gives no breakdown by industry.
The contract forms and renovation costs of ten casebook cases with offices or coworking spaces are in Closed Schools × IT & Coworking.
Combining Uses
Counts by use allow multiple answers, so a school used for two purposes is counted under both. School buildings and gymnasiums are tallied separately: of the 1,693 community sports facilities, 1,538 are gymnasiums and 155 are school buildings.
Some projects put more than one business into a single building, such as welfare services alongside a café.
Experience and Exchange Facilities
Use as experience and exchange facilities stands at 535, almost the same as the previous 520 (see the table). MAFF's grant for rural revitalization (agri-tourism type), which can fund agri-tourism facilities, appears in MEXT's list of national subsidies available for reusing closed schools.
Receiving overseas visitors requires multilingual information and communications infrastructure as a baseline.
Small Concession
The PPP/PFI Promotion Action Plan (2024 revision) uses Small Concession for public-private projects with a budget under roughly ¥1 billion on nearby idle property, including unused facilities such as closed schools, and lists setting up a promotion council and supporting project formation among measures from FY2024. Of the seven local governments MLIT announced in April 2025 as recipients of expert support, Ikeda Town in Hokkaido (the former Takashima Elementary School and others) and Nagasu Town in Kumamoto (the former Nagasu Junior High School) are working on closed schools.
The Action Plan describes Small Concession as public-private operation "including concessions", so it is not limited to granting an operating right. Where a public facility operating right is granted, the right is deemed a real right and can be mortgaged (PFI Act, Articles 24 and 25).
Policy Trends
Private proposals in the PPP/PFI Promotion Action Plan, and MEXT's list of national subsidy programs
Private Proposals in the PPP/PFI Promotion Action Plan
To encourage projects initiated by private operators, the Action Plan (2024 revision) says efforts toward effective private proposal systems need strengthening, and lists "active use of private proposals" as one of its measures.
National Subsidy Programs for Closed School Reuse
MEXT publishes a list of the main national subsidy programs available for reusing closed school facilities, organized by the new use. The main entries as of April 2026:
| New use | Program | Responsible body |
|---|---|---|
| Facilities for people with disabilities | Subsidy for the Development of Social Welfare Facilities | MHLW |
| Child welfare, childcare and after-school clubs | Next-Generation Development Support Facility Grant, Early Childhood Education and Care Facility Grant, and others | Children and Families Agency |
| Production, processing and experience facilities in converted school buildings in depopulated areas | Grant for Sustainable Development of Depopulated Areas (redevelopment of idle facilities) | MIC |
| Facilities for raising incomes and creating jobs in rural areas | Grant for Rural Revitalization (agri-tourism type; settlement and exchange type) | MAFF |
| Community and tourism exchange centers | Comprehensive Grant for Social Capital Development (urban renewal projects) | MLIT |
| Community sports facilities | Sports promotion lottery grant (community sports facilities) | Japan Sports Agency (Japan Sport Council) |
| Important Cultural Properties and registered tangible cultural properties | Repair, disaster prevention and public use projects for Important Cultural Properties (buildings); repair of registered tangible cultural properties (buildings) | Agency for Cultural Affairs |
| Local initiatives | Regional Future Grant (regional future promotion type) | Cabinet Office |
These subsidy programs change in content and conditions each fiscal year. Current information must be confirmed with the relevant ministries and prefectural contacts.
Challenges and Solutions
The three challenges of renovation funding, operator retention, and administrative capacity, with response directions
Unit costs and amounts in financial examples without a cited source are illustrative assumptions, not statistically established market rates. Use estimates and comparable records appropriate to the target facility, location and business when preparing a project plan. Distinguish these assumptions from cited statistics and case expenditure.
Challenge 1: Difficulty Securing Renovation Funding
One of the heaviest burdens in reusing a closed school is securing renovation funding. Seismic reinforcement, barrier-free upgrades, and facility renewals for aging buildings often require tens of millions to over ¥100 million.
Options include combining multiple subsidies (layering national and prefectural programs) and crowdfunding from the local community. Where an operating right is granted, it can also be used as collateral for a bank loan (see Small Concession above).
Challenge 2: Operator Retention in Communities
After an abandoned school project gets established, operator withdrawal and closure can become a problem. Withdrawal before renovation costs are recovered is a significant loss for municipalities as well.
One option is for municipalities to build monitoring of operators' finances into the tender requirements, with a mechanism for finding a successor early if the business cannot continue. Another is running the project through a consortium so that it does not depend on a single company.
Challenge 3: Shortage of Municipal Staff
Promoting abandoned school revitalization requires staff with legal expertise (Subsidy Optimization Act, Local Government Act, building code compliance, etc.) and private-sector negotiation skills — but specialist talent is particularly lacking in smaller municipalities.
Options include prefectural support (specialist dispatch and training), MEXT's Minna no Haiko Project (which publicizes closed schools seeking new uses, among other things) and MLIT's expert dispatch for Small Concession.
Outlook to 2030
This article's own view, not statistics, of directions toward 2030
What follows is this article's own view, not statistics.
Shared templates for procedures: As cases accumulate, tender terms and contract templates get shared and procedures become lighter. Because the government lists Small Concession project formation among its measures, templates for that route may come first.
Use as business facilities: This use grew between the two surveys. Whether it grows again in the next survey is one thing to watch.
Private-sector-initiated proposals: Private operators identifying closed schools and proposing uses first may become more common. The PPP/PFI Promotion Action Plan (2024 revision) also lists "active use of private proposals" as a measure (see Policy Trends above).
→ For an introductory guide to abandoned school revitalization, see How to Reuse a Closed School
→ For abandoned school subsidies, see Abandoned School Revitalization Subsidies and Support Programs
How to Reuse a Closed School: Survey Counts, MEXT's List of Closed Schools Seeking Uses, the Property Disposal Procedure, and National Subsidies
Survey counts and why uses stay undecided, MEXT's list of closed schools seeking uses, when property disposal needs only a report or no treasury repayment, and the national subsidy list
Six-Ministry Subsidy Guide for Closed School Reuse
MHLW welfare facility construction subsidies (national 1/2 + prefectural 1/4) and five other ministry programs — full coverage of available public funding.
What to do next
When developing a school reuse plan and renovation budget, check the following matters.
| # | What to check or consider | Responsible team or contact |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find operators interested in using the building. Ask about their intended uses and requirements, and use the responses to develop the reuse plan | Market sounding and local operators |
| 2 | Check the seismic assessment and asbestos survey results. If surveys have not been conducted, determine their scope and how to commission them | Facilities team |
| 3 | Estimate renovation costs from the survey results and compare them with demolition costs | Design office |
| 4 | Check the property disposal procedures. For subsidized school buildings, check MEXT approval or reporting requirements against the intended use and disposal restriction period | Board of education and MEXT |
| 5 | Explain the proposed reuse to alumni and community groups and hear their views before announcing the use | Alumni and neighbourhood associations |
Check operator interest and requirements before finalizing the use, and take prospective demand into account when developing the reuse plan.
References
Survey on Abandoned School Utilization Status (March 2025) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2025)
About the Collection of Closed School Reuse Cases — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2024)
PPP/PFI Promotion Action Plan (FY2024 Revision) — Cabinet Office, Private Finance Initiative Promotion Office (2024)
Main National Subsidy Programs Available for Reusing Closed School Facilities (as of April 2026) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
Call for Experts to Support Local Governments Working on Small Concessions — Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2025)
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