Counts by Use in the MEXT Survey
Counts and shares by use, the school building and gymnasium split, previous survey counts, and cautions for reading them
Largest use: schools excluding universities
4,191
2,110 school buildings and 2,081 gymnasiums; 40.5% of uses (as of 1 May 2024)
Gymnasiums among the 1,693 community sports facilities
1,538
155 are school buildings
Casebook cases converted by the municipality, out of 47
18
15 free leases, 8 paid leases, 5 transfers, and 1 with a paid lease of the land and a free lease of the building
MEXT's survey counts the main uses of closed schools that are in use, separately for school buildings and gymnasiums. Multiple answers are allowed; the current survey counted schools closed from FY2004 to FY2023 and the previous one schools closed from FY2002 to FY2020. The counts and shares are as follows.
| Use | Current count | Share | School buildings | Gymnasiums | Previous count | Previous share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schools (excluding universities) | 4,191 | 40.5% | 2,110 | 2,081 | 3,948 | 39.1% |
| Community 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% |
| – Social education facilities | 858 | 8.3% | 514 | 344 | 989 | 9.8% |
| – Cultural facilities | 348 | 3.4% | 236 | 112 | 341 | 3.4% |
| Welfare and medical facilities | 735 | 7.1% | 533 | 202 | 774 | 7.7% |
| – Welfare facilities for the elderly | 194 | 1.9% | 144 | 50 | 225 | 2.2% |
| – Welfare facilities for persons with disabilities | 177 | 1.7% | 126 | 51 | 176 | 1.7% |
| – Childcare facilities | 68 | 0.7% | 46 | 22 | 67 | 0.7% |
| – Certified centres for early childhood education and care | 37 | 0.4% | 23 | 14 | 40 | 0.4% |
| – Child welfare facilities (excluding nurseries) | 72 | 0.7% | 54 | 18 | 66 | 0.7% |
| – After-school children's clubs | 124 | 1.2% | 95 | 29 | 127 | 1.3% |
| – After-school children's classes | 34 | 0.3% | 22 | 12 | 39 | 0.4% |
| – Medical facilities | 29 | 0.3% | 23 | 6 | 34 | 0.3% |
| Business and start-up support facilities | 1,207 | 11.7% | 789 | 418 | 1,020 | 10.1% |
| – Facilities of companies and other organizations | 1,138 | 11.0% | 741 | 397 | 947 | 9.4% |
| – Start-up support facilities | 69 | 0.7% | 48 | 21 | 73 | 0.7% |
| Government offices, etc. | 449 | 4.3% | 323 | 126 | 461 | 4.6% |
| Experience 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% |
Three things to keep in mind when reading this table.
- Counts are not numbers of schools. Because school buildings and gymnasiums are counted separately with multiple answers, one school can be counted under two or more uses
- Uses differ in how they use gymnasiums. Of the 1,693 community sports facilities, 1,538 are gymnasiums; schools excluding universities are split almost evenly between 2,110 school buildings and 2,081 gymnasiums; welfare and medical facilities are 533 school buildings and 202 gymnasiums
- Do not read differences from the previous survey as straight increases or decreases, because the years of closure counted differ. Business and start-up support facilities went from 1,020 to 1,207, but start-up support facilities within them went from 73 to 69, social education facilities from 989 to 858, and welfare and medical facilities from 774 to 735
The survey has no category for lodging and no breakdown by industry. Its categories do not match the industries operators think in.
Uses and Contract Forms in the 47 Casebook Cases
For each use the casebook assigns, the number of cases lent free, leased for a fee, transferred or converted
MEXT's casebook has 47 cases, and for each it gives the uses and, after the operator's name, the contract form (paid transfer, free transfer, paid lease, free lease or conversion). Across the 47 cases, 18 are conversions, 15 free leases, 8 paid leases, 3 paid transfers, 2 with a paid transfer of the land and a free transfer of the building, and 1 with a paid lease of the land and a free lease of the school building. Conversions include cases where the municipality uses the school as its own facility and entrusts operation to a designated manager or similar.
Counting the cases and contract forms for each use gives the table below. One case can carry several uses, so the case counts add up to more than 47. The count is this article's own, and each case number can be checked on its casebook page.
| Use assigned in the casebook | Cases | Contract forms | Case numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facilities of companies and other organizations | 22 | Free lease 11, paid lease 6, paid transfer 3, paid transfer of land and free transfer of building 1, conversion 1 | 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 16, 19, 20, 23, 25, 26, 28, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 40, 43, 44, 45 |
| Lodging facilities | 6 | Conversion 4, paid lease 1, free lease 1 | 20, 22, 30, 36, 41, 47 |
| Social education facilities | 5 | Conversion 3, free lease 2 | 5, 10, 17, 45, 46 |
| Experience and exchange facilities (nature experience facilities, etc.) | 5 | Conversion 3, free lease 2 | 5, 6, 18, 23, 39 |
| Start-up support facilities | 4 | Conversion 2, free lease 2 | 17, 20, 31, 38 |
| Community sports facilities | 4 | Conversion 4 | 20, 30, 38, 41 |
| Cultural facilities | 3 | Conversion 2, free lease 1 | 5, 13, 21 |
| Universities | 3 | Free lease 2, conversion 1 | 17, 18, 27 |
| Certified centres for early childhood education and care | 2 | Conversion 2 | 24, 34 |
| Welfare facilities for persons with disabilities | 2 | Free lease 1, paid transfer of land and free transfer of building 1 | 7, 15 |
| After-school children's clubs | 2 | Conversion 1, paid lease 1 | 20, 42 |
| Government offices, etc. | 2 | Conversion 2 | 29, 46 |
| Welfare facilities for the elderly | 1 | Paid lease of land and free lease of school building | 3 |
| Schools | 1 | Conversion | 4 |
| Child welfare facilities | 1 | Conversion | 24 |
| Medical facilities | 1 | Conversion | 46 |
| Housing | 1 | Conversion | 46 |
| Other | 11 | Conversion 9, paid lease 1, free lease 1 | 10, 11, 12, 14, 20, 22, 31, 38, 41, 46, 47 |
Of the 22 cases used as facilities of companies and other organizations, only Iizuna's Case 20 is a municipal conversion; the rest are leases or transfers to operators. Every case marked as a community sports facility, certified centre for early childhood education and care or government office is a municipal conversion. The case with the most uses is Iizuna's Case 20, with six (start-up support facility, lodging facility, community sports facility, after-school children's club, facility of companies and other organizations, and other).
The list of the 47 cases and cases by field are in the article 47 Former School Reuse Cases.
The Building Standards Act by Use
Uses that need change-of-use confirmation, groups of similar uses, uses allowed in category 1 low-rise exclusive residential zones, and detailed articles by use
Uses That Need Change-of-Use Confirmation
When a building's use is changed so that it becomes a special building for a use in column (i) of Appended Table 1 and the floor area used for that purpose exceeds 200 m², the confirmation procedure applies, except for changes between similar uses specified by Cabinet Order. In column (i) of Appended Table 1, item (1) covers theatres, cinemas, performance halls, stadiums, public halls, assembly halls and similar; item (2) hospitals, clinics with inpatient facilities, hotels, inns, boarding houses, apartment buildings, dormitories and similar; item (3) schools, gymnasiums and similar; item (4) department stores, markets, exhibition halls, amusement facilities and similar; item (5) warehouses and similar; and item (6) car garages, car repair shops and similar. Uses similar to item (2) are child welfare facilities and similar; uses similar to item (3) are museums, art museums, libraries, bowling alleys, ski slopes, skating rinks, swimming pools and sports practice facilities; and uses similar to item (4) are public baths, machiai tea houses, traditional restaurants, restaurants and shops selling goods (excluding those with a floor area of 10 m² or less). The groups of similar uses that need no confirmation include theatres, cinemas and performance halls; public halls and assembly halls; clinics with inpatient facilities and child welfare facilities and similar; hotels and inns; boarding houses and dormitories; museums, art museums and libraries; and gymnasiums, bowling alleys, skating rinks, swimming pools, ski slopes, golf practice ranges and batting practice facilities. Schools are not in any group. For buildings in category 1 low-rise exclusive residential zones and some other zones, certain groups are excluded from this treatment.The table below summarises confirmation when converting a school into each use. Confirmation is needed when the floor area used for that purpose exceeds 200 m².
| Use after conversion | Column (i) of Appended Table 1 | Change-of-use confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| Child welfare facilities and similar (welfare facilities for the elderly, support facilities for persons with disabilities, nurseries and so on) | Similar to item (2) | Needed |
| Hotels, inns | Item (2) | Needed |
| Gymnasiums, sports practice facilities | Item (3), similar to item (3) | Needed |
| Museums, art museums, libraries | Similar to item (3) | Needed |
| Restaurants, shops selling goods | Similar to item (4) | Needed (for shops selling goods, excluding those of 10 m² or less) |
| Warehouses | Item (5) | Needed |
| Offices | Not listed | Not needed |
| Factories (other than car repair shops) | Not listed | Not needed |
Uses Allowed in Category 1 Low-Rise Exclusive Residential Zones
When the use of a building is changed, Article 48(1) to (14) (restrictions in use districts and similar areas) apply mutatis mutandis. The buildings that may be built in category 1 low-rise exclusive residential zones are houses; houses that double as offices, shops or similar and are specified by Cabinet Order; apartment buildings, dormitories and boarding houses; schools (other than universities, colleges of technology, specialized training colleges and miscellaneous schools), libraries and similar; shrines, temples, churches and similar; homes for the elderly, nurseries, welfare homes and similar; public baths (other than those for private-room bathing businesses); clinics; police boxes, public telephone booths and other buildings needed in the public interest specified by Cabinet Order; and buildings attached to these (other than those specified by Cabinet Order). In category 2 low-rise exclusive residential zones, shops, restaurants and similar specified by Cabinet Order may also be built if the floor area used for them is 150 m² or less (other than those using the third floor or above for that purpose).In category 1 low-rise exclusive residential zones, converting a school into a home for the elderly, a nursery, a welfare home, a library or similar falls within the buildings that may be built. Offices (other than houses that double as offices specified by Cabinet Order), hotels and inns, factories, and shops and restaurants are not on the list for this zone. However, the restriction does not apply where the designated administrative agency grants permission, finding that the building will not harm a good residential environment in the category 1 low-rise exclusive residential zone or that it is unavoidable in the public interest. Before granting such permission, the agency must in principle hold a public hearing to which interested parties are summoned and obtain the consent of the building review board.
Detailed Articles by Use
Programmes, statutes and casebook cases for each use are set out in the following articles.
A Guide to Repurposing Closed Schools for Welfare Operators: Leasing, Building Checks, Subsidies, Designation Standards and Cases [2026 Edition]
How to acquire a school and negotiate with the municipality, building surveys, subsidies and grants, and facility standards and cases by type of service
Closed Schools × Childcare (Nurseries & After-School): Floor-Area Standards, Grant Shares, and Cases from Mihara, Saikai and Yokkaichi
Facility standards and renovation for nurseries, conversion to after-school clubs, subsidies, and using the schoolyard and spare classrooms
After-School Day Services × Closed Schools: Fee Units, Facility and Staffing Standards, Designation Requirements and Building Checks [2026 Edition]
The fee structure after the FY2024 revision, facility standards and renovation, and the steps from forming a corporation to applying for designation
Closed Schools × Tourism & Lodging: Inn Permits, Zoning and Fire Rules, Farm-Stay Grants, and Six Cases from the MEXT Casebook
Inn business permits and structural standards, zoning and urbanization control areas, and fire code categories
Closed Schools × IT & Coworking: Ten Cases from the MEXT Casebook, Zoning and Urbanization Control Areas, Trial Satellite Offices and Grants
Survey counts, contract forms and renovation costs of ten casebook cases, the Building Standards Act and City Planning Act, and the trial satellite office guidelines
Abandoned School Use Change and the Building Standards Act — Renovation Requirements for Welfare Facility Conversion [2026 Edition]
The floor area that triggers confirmation for a change of use, and when fire compartments, smoke control and interior finish rules apply, checked against the statutes
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)
Casebook on Repurposing Closed Schools (Minna no Haiko Project) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2023)
Building Standards Act (Act No. 201 of 1950) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
Order for Enforcement of the Building Standards Act (Cabinet Order No. 338 of 1950) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
Related Articles
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
47 Former School Reuse Cases — Success Patterns and Failure Factors from Ministry of Education Data [2026 Edition]
The list of the 47 casebook cases with their uses, and cases by field
How to Repurpose an Abandoned School — A Complete Step-by-Step Guide from Site Selection to Proposal [2026 Edition]
Seven steps: site survey, property disposal, change of use and building surveys, market sounding and proposals
