ABANDONED-SCHOOL
A closed school: what for, and how?
Reuse policy, the building and contract terms, costs, and how it would be run, arranged by how far your review has got.
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Closed School Renovation Costs: Breakdown by Cost Item and Case Examples [2026 Edition]
Closed school renovation costs broken down by structure, interiors, building services, fire safety equipment and accessibility. Covers the conditions under which a Yubari City conversion came in at about one-third of new construction, renovation costs for welfare, childcare and other cases in MEXT's case collection, and what subsidies leave the operator to pay.
Subsidies for Closed School Reuse: All 6 Ministries Covered [2026 Edition]
Japan's main national subsidy programs for reusing closed schools, checked against MEXT's list as of April 2026 and each ministry's rules and documents. Covers program names, subsidy shares, caps and eligible applicants for MAFF, MLIT, MIC, the Cabinet Office, MHLW and the Children and Families Agency, plus MEXT's property disposal procedure and what to check when combining programs.
Abandoned School Proposal Design — Selection Flow and Evaluation Criteria [2026 Edition]
A practical guide to the proposal-based operator selection process for abandoned school reuse. Covers the five-step selection flow, evaluation criteria weighting (price vs. quality), 14 required documents, review committee composition, and common pitfalls — for both municipal officials and prospective operators.
Abandoned School × Welfare Facility Revenue Model — Estimating Type B Employment Support Fees and Facility Costs [2026 Edition]
An estimate of the finances of opening a disability welfare service facility in a closed school, using Type B continuous employment support as the example. Covers the base fee tiers from June 2026, the special rule for newly designated facilities, the rule on paying user wages, how to work out the facility cost difference, and cases in Nishiwaga (Iwate), Nagaoka (Niigata) and Yuni (Hokkaido), all checked against MHLW, MEXT and other primary sources.
Kamiyama and Green Valley: Population and Migration, the Buildings Used for Satellite Offices, and the College That Turned the Former Kamiyama Junior High School into a Dormitory
Kamiyama town in Tokushima Prefecture: its population and in- and out-migration, the history of the NPO Green Valley, the buildings used for satellite offices and trial facilities, and the private college of technology that renovated the former Kamiyama Junior High School, received from the town, into its dormitory, checked against the town's statistics, documents published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the pages of Green Valley and the college.
Abandoned School Reuse Failures — Why Repurposed Schools Become Idle Again: Structural Causes of Withdrawal and Business Collapse
According to MEXT surveys, approximately 25% of closed school facilities remain unused. Moreover, even facilities that initially found new uses sometimes return to idle status due to operator withdrawal or business collapse. This article analyzes structural causes of abandoned school reuse failures and identifies preconditions for avoidance.
47 Former School Reuse Cases — Success Patterns and Failure Factors from Ministry of Education Data [2026 Edition]
For municipal officials: the 47 cases in MEXT's casebook on repurposing closed schools (March 2023), counted by the uses the casebook assigns and listed in full. The most common use is company or organization facilities (22 cases). Why welfare conversion is chosen, the renovation costs and subsidies in Nishiwaga, Nagaoka and Yokkaichi, and how consensus with residents was built, all read from the casebook.
How to Reuse a Closed School: Survey Counts, MEXT's List of Closed Schools Seeking Uses, the Property Disposal Procedure, and National Subsidies
What a municipality or operator should check in national documents before reusing a closed school: the counts in MEXT's survey and why uses stay undecided, MEXT's list of closed school facilities seeking new uses, the property disposal procedure under the notice of 31 March 2026 (when no procedure is needed, when a report is enough, and when no treasury repayment is due), the national subsidy list as of April 2026, and the contract forms in the 47 casebook cases, with links to articles by use.
How to Repurpose an Abandoned School — A Complete Step-by-Step Guide from Site Selection to Proposal [2026 Edition]
For businesses and municipalities exploring abandoned school reuse. Starting from 8,850 cumulative closures and 1,951 unused facilities, this guide walks through the 7 steps from site survey through policy formulation, property disposition, use-change permits, sounding, proposals and opening, the subsidy programs by ministry, and three failures to avoid before you start, checked against MEXT and other official sources.
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