Compare municipal offering terms and reuse cases when considering whether to sell or lease a school. MEXT's survey covers three items: the number of closed schools, their utilization status, and the status of consideration toward utilization. It does not ask whether a school was sold or leased, so no national split can be given. This article counts whether municipalities show a transfer or a lease in MEXT's list of closed school facilities currently seeking new uses, and sets out the listings that state amounts and periods. It also gives the renovation costs of the 14 cases in MEXT's casebook that chose a transfer or a paid lease. The statutory differences are in Selling or Leasing a Closed School Under the Statutes, and the property disposal procedure for buildings built with national subsidies is in Property Disposal of Closed Schools.
Listings that offer both a transfer and a lease
124 listings
Out of the 455 facilities in the index that have a page in the regional lists of MEXT's list of closed school facilities currently seeking new uses (edition based on information as of 1 September 2026, retrieved on 14 September). Counted for this article
Listings that state neither a transfer nor a lease
209 listings
Calls for business proposals or ideas, market soundings and similar. Out of the same 455
Casebook cases that chose a transfer or a paid lease
14 cases
The renovation cost entries of the 5 transfer cases do not show a municipal share
The Forms Municipalities Show for Schools on Offer
The form MEXT's list uses, and the count of whether 455 listings show a transfer or a lease
At the request of local governments, MEXT gathers information on unused closed school facilities for which each local government is seeking uses or users, and publishes it as a list. The list is updated monthly. The current edition is based on information as of 1 September 2026 and is published as an index and 12 regional PDF files, from Hokkaido to Kyushu 2 (Kagoshima). The regional lists use a nationally uniform form, with fields for each facility covering what is sought, conditions of lease or transfer, and remarks. The guidelines ask that the field for what is sought state it concretely, giving seeking a transferee, seeking a lessee (3 years) and seeking ideas as examples, and describe the conditions field as a free field for conditions of the call and desired uses, giving monthly rent of ○○ yen and a planned sale price of ○○○ yen as examples.
Counting How Transfer and Lease Are Shown
On 14 September we retrieved the 12 regional files and, of the 456 facilities in the index, read the 455 that have a page in the regional lists, using three fields: what is sought, conditions of lease or transfer, and remarks. We sorted them by whether they mention a transfer (including sale, 売払い, purchase and sale, and transfer of ownership) or a lease (including lending, lease contracts and rent), and did not count passages describing current use, such as a gymnasium lent to a local group. The result is as follows (counted for this article).
| Form shown | Listings |
|---|---|
| Both a transfer and a lease | 124 |
| Lease only | 69 |
| Transfer only | 42 |
| Split, such as leasing the land and transferring the buildings | 11 |
| Neither (calls for business proposals, calls for ideas for use, market soundings and similar) | 209 |
| Total | 455 |
The one facility in the index without a page in the regional lists is an elementary school in Yame City, Fukuoka (横山小学校). The regional lists also have pages for two facilities that are not in the index, a school in Nikko City, Tochigi (湯西川小中学校) and an elementary school in Yame City (鶯西小学校), and we did not count these two. The list is replaced monthly, so the edition you open may not match the counts in this article.
Of the 246 listings that mention a transfer or a lease, 124 offer both. These 124 are written so that you can apply for either. Some go further: Miyako City gives priority to a sale when there are applications for both, and Sano City gives priority to a sale while also allowing a lease. For the 209 that state neither, the page does not tell you the form, so ask the contact office.
Listings That State Amounts and Periods
Listings from the regional lists that state amounts for a sale, amounts for a lease, free or reduced terms, and contract periods
Amounts for a Sale
Osaki City, Miyagi, lists reference sale prices (売却時の参考価格) in its call for utilization proposals for six schools, noting that they are not estimated prices. The figures for 西大崎小学校 (¥42 million), 上野目小学校 (¥35 million), 池月小学校 (¥98 million), 高倉小学校 (¥136 million) and 東大崎小学校 (¥185 million) are the city's estimates as of June 2025, and the figure for 清滝小学校 (¥152 million) is the price at the time of a real estate appraisal in October 2024; all exclude consumption tax and similar taxes. Miyako City, Iwate, seeks applicants wishing to buy or lease 茂市小学校 and 和井内小学校, and gives priority to a sale when there are applicants for both.
Omitama City, Ibaraki, sets the planned sale price of the buildings of 下吉影小学校 at ¥246,015,000 (including consumption tax) and of the land at ¥112,950,000, and says the buildings may be transferred free of charge where a proposal is found to have greater public benefit. Nasushiobara City, Tochigi, offers 旧大貫小学校 and related property at a planned sale price of ¥5,660,000 or more, as a single transaction on an as-is basis, with all costs such as renovation and utilities borne by the proposer. Sano City, Tochigi, gives priority to a sale for four schools and also allows a lease.
Amounts for a Lease
Ichinoseki City, Iwate, lists approximate lease fees in its calls for business proposals for three schools: ¥487,300 a year for 旧老松小学校, ¥1,518,770 a year for 旧永井小学校 and ¥602,800 a year for 旧新沼小学校. For 旧日光中学校, Nikko City, Tochigi, runs a public call for operators under its private proposal scheme and assumes an annual rent of about ¥4.5 million.
Toyooka City, Hyogo, leases the land and buildings of 奈佐小学校 together for 10 years through a public proposal process. The base lease price is ¥2,658,000 a year: to encourage use, the buildings are lent free of charge and only the land carries a fee, and proposals may be above or below the base price. Miki City, Hyogo, seeks a lessee for 星陽中学校 for 10 years at a monthly rent of ¥665,000 (consumption tax and local consumption tax charged separately).
Adachi City, Tokyo, calls for business proposals for 旧北鹿浜小学校 that lease the land and transfer the buildings. It gives ¥1,667,000 a month as the minimum proposal amount for land rent in the FY2024 call, and notes in the remarks a free transfer of the buildings if the council so resolves (建物の無償譲渡（議決された場合）). Fukuyama City, Hiroshima, offers part of the third floor of 山野中学校 for lease, with the minimum rent for third-floor classrooms starting at ¥66,331 a year and a different base price for each classroom.
Listings That Offer Free or Reduced Terms
Tamba City, Hyogo, sets no lease fee for the land or buildings of 芦田小学校, and says a lease of the land and buildings free of charge is also possible for 旧鴨庄小学校. Nishiaizu Town, Fukushima, leases 群岡小学校 for a charge in principle, and free of charge for public or community use and other uses the mayor approves. Kawamata Town, Fukushima, notes that a town ordinance allows the lease fee for 富田小学校 to be waived or reduced. Yamamoto Town, Miyagi, assumes a paid lease for 坂元中学校, and will consider a reduced or free lease for a business that serves the public interest. Sakuho Town, Nagano, seeks a transferee and a lessee for 旧八千穂小学校, and will transfer the school buildings and other buildings free of charge.
Lending or transferring property free of charge or for less than fair consideration requires an ordinance or a council resolution under the Local Autonomy Act. Kawamata Town cites a town ordinance, and Adachi City a council resolution. The articles are in Selling or Leasing a Closed School Under the Statutes.
Listings That State a Period
For nine schools including 元西陣小学校, Kyoto City in principle leases the whole site and transfers the buildings, with a contract period of 10 years or more and no more than 80 years. For もと西淡路小学校, Osaka City leases the land to the operator for 49 years and 11 months under a business-use fixed-term land leasehold contract (residential use not permitted); of the buildings, it sells the gymnasium building (屋体棟) to the operator by negotiated contract, and the operator is to demolish and remove all other buildings, including foundations and piles. Taka Town, Hyogo, chooses a candidate for three schools through a public proposal process and sets a lease period of five years under a land and building lease contract.
Tochigi City seeks a lessee for 皆川中学校 for up to 10 years, Moka City, Tochigi, requires the business at 山前南小学校 to continue for 10 years or more, and Otawara City, Tochigi, requires a lease of roughly five years or more for 旧須佐木小学校. For 春立小学校 and 鳧舞小学校, Shinhidaka Town, Hokkaido, requires that the proposed business start within three years of the transfer of ownership and that the property be used for it for 10 years from the transfer, and notes in the remarks that approval of property disposal from MEXT is needed.
14 Casebook Cases That Chose Transfer or Paid Lease
The contract forms and renovation costs of 14 casebook cases, and whether a municipal share is shown
MEXT's casebook presents 47 cases, and for each gives the contract form after the name of the operator, and the total and the breakdown of who paid in the renovation cost field. Fourteen cases have a contract form of paid transfer, paid transfer of the land with free transfer of the buildings, paid lease, or paid lease of the land with a free loan of the school building, and their renovation cost fields read as follows.
| Case | Former school and new facility | Contract form | Renovation cost (as written in the casebook) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Koshimizu Town, Hokkaido (Case 1) | 旧北陽小学校; rice cracker factory | Paid transfer | About ¥450 million in total (borne by the operator). No subsidy |
| Namegata City, Ibaraki (Case 8) | 旧大和第三小学校; hands-on farming theme park | Paid transfer | About ¥2.2 billion in total (of which about ¥1.7 billion borne by the operator and about ¥500 million in subsidies) |
| Kikuchi City, Kumamoto (Case 43) | 旧水源小学校; sake brewery | Paid transfer | About ¥250 million in total (borne by the operator). No subsidy |
| Owani Town, Aomori (Case 2) | 旧大鰐第三小学校; cured ham workshop | Land: paid transfer; buildings: free transfer | About ¥37.05 million in total (the operator's share and subsidies) |
| Nagaoka City, Niigata (Case 15) | 旧島田小学校; disability welfare service facility | Land: paid transfer; buildings: free transfer | About ¥235 million in total (of which about ¥180 million borne by the operator and about ¥55 million in subsidies) |
| Nakagawa Town, Tochigi (Case 9) | 旧馬頭東中学校; sawmill and biomass power plant | Paid lease | About ¥700 million for the sawmill and about ¥1.4 billion for the power plant (of which about ¥1.15 billion borne by the two operators combined and about ¥950 million in subsidies to the two combined) |
| Minobu Town, Yamanashi (Case 19) | 旧中富中学校; drone development and research facility | Paid lease | About ¥1 million in total (borne by the operator). No subsidy |
| Shimada City, Shizuoka (Case 22) | 旧湯日小学校; glamping facility | Paid lease | About ¥406 million in total (of which about ¥6 million borne by the municipality, about ¥376 million by the operator and about ¥24 million in subsidies) |
| Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto (Case 26) | 旧中六人部小学校; strawberry farm and hands-on farming facility | Paid lease | About ¥26 million in total (borne by the operator). No subsidy |
| Yabu City, Hyogo (Case 28) | 旧浅野小学校; snap ring factory | Paid lease | About ¥200 million in total (borne by the operator) |
| Kasaoka City, Okayama (Case 33) | 旧大島東小学校; shared studio | Paid lease | About ¥7.08 million in total (borne by the municipality). No subsidy |
| Miyawaka City, Fukuoka (Case 40) | 旧吉川小学校; AI research and development facility | Paid lease | About ¥326.84 million in total (of which about ¥117.68 million borne by the municipality and about ¥209.16 million in subsidies) |
| Saikai City, Nagasaki (Case 42) | 旧松島小学校; after-school children's club | Paid lease | About ¥8.14 million in total (of which about ¥8.14 million borne by the municipality and about ¥1,000 by the operator) |
| Nishiwaga Town, Iwate (Case 3) | 旧越中畑小学校; care facility | Land: paid lease; school building: free loan | About ¥41.5 million in total (of which about ¥8.5 million borne by the operator and about ¥33 million in subsidies) |
None of the five transfer cases shows a municipal share in the renovation cost field; each is written as the operator's share, or as the operator's share and subsidies. The eight paid lease cases split evenly: four show no municipal share (Nakagawa, Minobu, Fukuchiyama and Yabu) and four include one (Shimada, Kasaoka, Miyawaka and Saikai).
What to Check Before Deciding to Sell or Lease
Possible future official or public use, free or below-value disposal, national subsidies and lease terms, with the articles and the notice behind each
- Whether the property may be needed for official or public use in future. Where leased ordinary property becomes necessary for official or public use during the lease period, the head of the municipality may terminate the contract, and the lessee may claim compensation for the loss. What applies mutatis mutandis to sales and free transfers is only termination where a use, a date and a period were specified.
- Whether you will dispose of it free of charge or for less than fair consideration. A local government's property may not be transferred or lent without fair consideration except by ordinance or council resolution (except where Article 238-4(1) applies).
- Whether the building was built with national subsidies. A disposal for a charge needs an approval application even for buildings and related items 10 or more years after completion of the subsidized project, and no treasury payment is needed if an amount at least equal to the treasury payment is placed in a fund used for school facility development. A disposal free of charge of buildings and related items 10 or more years after completion is settled by a report, except where it leaves the school short of facilities and in similar cases.
- If you lease, how you will set the term and renewal. A leasehold without renewal is either a fixed-term land leasehold with a duration of 50 years or more, or a leasehold of 10 years or more but less than 50 years for owning a building used exclusively for business (contracted by notarial deed). A building lease without renewal is contracted in writing, such as a notarial deed, after the lessor gives the lessee a document explaining it in advance.
The articles and procedures are in Selling or Leasing a Closed School Under the Statutes and Property Disposal of Closed Schools.
Selling or Leasing a Closed School Under the Statutes: Administrative and Ordinary Property, Council Resolutions, Choosing the Counterparty, Termination, and Lease Terms
Why administrative property cannot be sold, when a council resolution is needed, competitive bidding and negotiated contracts, when the municipality can terminate after contracting, and lease terms under the Act on Land and Building Leases and loans for use
Property Disposal of Closed Schools: When No Procedure Is Needed, Disposals Settled by Report, Treasury Payments and Funds, and Documents and Filing Times
When no procedure is needed, disposals settled by report and those needing approval, how the treasury payment is calculated and when a fund replaces it, and the documents and filing times
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
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
Minna no Haiko Project: List of Closed School Facilities Currently Seeking New Uses — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Guidelines for Preparing Form 1 (List of Closed School Facilities Seeking Uses), New Registrations — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2023)
List of Closed School Facilities Currently Seeking New Uses: Hokkaido, 1 September 2026 edition — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
List of Closed School Facilities Currently Seeking New Uses: Tohoku 1 (Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi), 1 September 2026 edition — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
List of Closed School Facilities Currently Seeking New Uses: Tohoku 2 (Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima), 1 September 2026 edition — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
List of Closed School Facilities Currently Seeking New Uses: Kanto 1 (Ibaraki, Tochigi), 1 September 2026 edition — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
List of Closed School Facilities Currently Seeking New Uses: Kanto 2 (Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo), 1 September 2026 edition — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
List of Closed School Facilities Currently Seeking New Uses: Chubu 2 (Yamanashi, Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka, Aichi), 1 September 2026 edition — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
List of Closed School Facilities Currently Seeking New Uses: Kinki (Mie, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Wakayama), 1 September 2026 edition — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
List of Closed School Facilities Currently Seeking New Uses: Chugoku (Tottori, Shimane, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi), 1 September 2026 edition — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
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)
Casebook on Repurposing Closed Schools (Minna no Haiko Project) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2023)
Notice on Approval of Property Disposal Relating to Subsidies for Public School Facility Development (No. 1190, 31 March 2026) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
Local Autonomy Act (Act No. 67 of 1947) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
Act on Land and Building Leases (Act No. 90 of 1991) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
