What to Check Before Using a Closed School for Welfare
Conversions to welfare and medical facilities, the three welfare cases in the casebook, how to work out the facility cost difference, and the types of facility revenue
Closed schools converted to welfare and medical facilities
735 cases
FY2024 survey. How many are rent-free or paid is not tallied
Structural seismic performance index (Is) treated as safe for school buildings
0.7 or above
Higher than the 0.6 used for housing and offices (MEXT Guidelines for Promoting Seismic Retrofitting of School Facilities)
Share of development costs borne by a social welfare corporation under the Social Welfare Facility Development Subsidy
1/4
National 1/2 and prefecture (including designated and core cities) 1/4 in principle (MHLW, Development and Operation of Social Welfare Facilities)
Conversion to welfare and medical facilities stands at 735 cases (7.1%). How many of those are rent-free or low-cost is not tallied in the survey. Rent varies by municipality, so read the solicitation documents for the figure.
Three Welfare Cases in the Casebook
In MEXT's casebook, three cases carry an elderly welfare facility or disability welfare facility use: Nishiwaga (Iwate), Miharu (Fukushima) and Nagaoka (Niigata).
| Case | Former school (year built) | Use | Operator and contract form | Facility size | Renovation cost | Subsidies and similar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nishiwaga, Iwate (case 3) | Former Ecchuhata Elementary School (FY1980) | Small-scale multifunctional home | A local NPO (land leased for a fee, school building lent free) | 489.78 m² | About ¥41.5M in total (operator about ¥8.5M, subsidies about ¥33M) | Two MHLW subsidies for care service facility development and facility opening preparation costs |
| Miharu, Fukushima (case 7) | Former Sawaishi Elementary School (FY1971) | Welfare farming facility | Two companies (lent free) | 1,344.52 m² | About ¥4M in total | None |
| Nagaoka, Niigata (case 15) | Former Shimada Elementary School (FY1904) | Employment support facility for people with disabilities | A social welfare corporation (land sold, building transferred free) | 2,973.68 m² | About ¥235M in total (operator about ¥180M, subsidies about ¥55M) | MHLW social welfare facility development subsidy |
In all three, the school building was provided free; Nishiwaga's operator leases the land for a fee and Nagaoka's bought it. The facility cost difference is worked out by setting current rent against the land and building charges for the closed school and the maintenance share agreed with the municipality. The method is set out in a table in Abandoned School × Welfare Facility Revenue Model.
Types of Facility Revenue
Social welfare facilities are run either on long-term care fees or disability benefit payments under a contract system between user and facility, or on placement costs paid when the placing authority places a person in need of support in the facility. Fee tiers and an estimate for Type B continuous employment support are in Abandoned School × Welfare Facility Revenue Model.
Acquisition Methods and How to Negotiate with Municipalities
Administrative and ordinary property, the ordinance or council resolution for free or below-value terms, contract forms in the casebook, asset disposition, when contracts can be cancelled, and the list of schools seeking uses
Administrative Property or Ordinary Property
Public property is divided into administrative property, which is used or decided to be used for public purposes, and ordinary property. Except in set cases, administrative property cannot be lent or sold, though its use may be permitted to the extent it does not interfere with its purpose, and the Act on Land and Building Leases does not apply to that permission. Ordinary property can be lent, exchanged, sold or given. Start by asking the municipality which kind of property the closed school now is.
Free or Below-Value Terms Need an Ordinance or Council Resolution
Except where Article 238-4(1) applies, a local government may not exchange its property, use it as capital contribution or means of payment, or transfer or lend it without fair consideration, unless by ordinance or council resolution. If you want to borrow or receive the school free or for less than fair consideration, first check whether the municipality has an ordinance on free lending of property or whether a council resolution is needed. If a resolution is needed, build the council schedule into your timeline.
Contract Forms in the Casebook's 47 Cases
Each case page in the casebook has an operator field with the contract form in brackets, such as conversion, free loan, paid lease or sale. Counting the 47 cases (this article's count):
| Form in the operator field | Cases |
|---|---|
| Converted by the municipality itself | 18 |
| Free loan | 15 |
| Paid lease | 8 |
| Sale | 3 |
| Land sold, building transferred free | 2 |
| Land leased for a fee, school building lent free | 1 |
| Total | 47 |
Asset Disposition for Schools Built with National Subsidies
When a school facility built with public school facility improvement subsidies is used for a non-educational purpose within the disposition restriction period, the local government that manages it must, under the Act on Regulation of Execution of Budget Pertaining to Subsidies, obtain the approval of the Minister of Education and pay the equivalent of the national subsidy to the national treasury (the asset-disposition procedure). Disposing of buildings free of charge 10 years or more after the subsidized project was completed is deemed approved once a report is submitted to the Minister, and no payment to the treasury is required. Temporary conversion or lending of closed school facilities for a public-interest use without altering them is not a disposal and needs no procedure. The municipality carries out the procedure, but whether the building was subsidized and how many years have passed affect the operator's schedule too, so ask at the start.
When the Municipality Can Cancel the Contract
Where ordinary property has been lent and, during the lending period, it becomes necessary for public use by the national government, a local government or another public body, the head of the local government may cancel the contract, and the borrower may claim compensation for the resulting loss. Where the property was lent for a specified use by a specified date and for a specified period, the head may also cancel the contract if the borrower has not put it to that use by the date or ends that use within the period. In the contract, check the term, renewal conditions and how renovation costs are treated on cancellation.
Contacts and Process
At local governments' request, MEXT compiles and publishes information on unused closed school facilities for which local governments are seeking uses or users, and updates the list every month. The list as of 1 September 2026 is split into PDFs by region. For each school the list gives the address, contact, zoning, site area, structure, year completed, total floor area, what is being sought, lending or transfer conditions and floor plans. The contact is not always the board of education; for a junior high school in Ayagawa, Kagawa, it is an office in the town's general affairs division.
The process from inquiry to contract, in this article's order:
- Ask the contact on the list about the type of property, lending or transfer conditions, and whether a seismic assessment exists
- Visit the site
- Prepare a business plan, financial projection and renovation plan
- Apply under the solicitation guidelines if there is a solicitation
- Go through review
- Sign the lease or transfer contract
- Renovate and apply for designation or approval
Operators were chosen in different ways. Nagaoka chose a social welfare corporation through a simplified evaluation proposal process. Miharu solicited users and reviewed applicants in a selection committee including two members chosen from local residents, interviewing applicants directly. In Nishiwaga, representatives of local residents set up the NPO that runs the facility before the school closed. In Nishiwaga, other operators objected out of concern that long-term care insurance premiums would rise further, and understanding was reached by holding many briefings on the projected number of older people.
Building Inspection and Renovation Costs
The Is value, accessibility and sprinkler conditions, and how Nagaoka and Miharu handled renovation
Priority Inspection Items
Before proceeding with any closed-school repurposing, confirm three things without exception.
① Seismic performance
Closed schools include buildings put up before the revised seismic code took effect in 1981. A seismic assessment of a school building treats a structural seismic performance index (Is) of 0.7 or above as safe, a higher bar than the 0.6 used for housing and offices. If an assessment was done, the report is held by the municipality that owns the building, so request disclosure and read the Is value first. In Nishiwaga, the building already met seismic standards before it was reused and subsidies were available, so opening costs could be covered with borrowing alone.
② Accessibility
When building a specified building of the scale set by Cabinet Order or larger (including changing a building's use into a specified building), the owner must make it meet the building accessibility standards. Local governments can add buildings by ordinance or set a smaller scale than the Cabinet Order. Where the duty does not apply, there is an obligation to make efforts to meet the standards. The scale specified by Cabinet Order under Article 14, Paragraph 1 of the Act is a total floor area of 2,000 square metres, or 50 square metres for public toilets. Where the use of a building is changed, the area counted is that of the part subject to the change. The buildings covered include nursing homes and welfare homes and similar facilities used mainly by elderly people and people with disabilities, welfare centers for the elderly, children's recreation facilities and welfare centers for people with physical disabilities, among others. Check the standards for toilets, entrances, corridors, ramps, lifts and so on, together with local ordinances, before design.
③ Fire protection equipment
The Fire Service Act Enforcement Order sets whether sprinklers are required by the use categories in Appended Table 1, together with floor area and storey (Article 12). Facilities in category (6)(b)(1), such as special nursing homes for the elderly, need them regardless of floor area, while facilities in category (6)(c)(5), such as daily life support and continuous employment support, depend on floor area and storey. The conditions for each category are set out in a table in Abandoned School Use Change and the Building Standards Act.
Estimating Renovation Costs
Renovation costs depend on the building's condition and how much of it is used. The totals and facility sizes for the three cases are in the table in the first section.
At the former Shimada Elementary School in Nagaoka, columns deformed by age had to be repaired, foundations that had sunk in earthquakes had to be adjusted, and work was needed to meet the current Building Standards Act and Fire Service Act, which cost a considerable amount. Miharu consulted the departments responsible for the Building Standards Act and the Fire Service Act and told the operator in advance what renovation the change of use from a school would require, so the operator could picture the renovation costs. Before getting quotes, list the work a change of use will require with the municipality's building and fire officials.
Available Subsidies and Grants
Who the Social Welfare Facility Development Subsidy covers and the cost shares, programs for elderly and children's facilities, who receives the depopulated-area grant, and WAM loans
Social Welfare Facility Development Subsidy (Disability Welfare Service Establishments and Similar)
The facilities covered by the Social Welfare Facility Development Subsidy (under the Department of Health and Welfare for Persons with Disabilities, Social Welfare and War Victims' Relief Bureau) are shown in the table below. When a social welfare corporation or similar body develops a facility, the national government in principle subsidizes 1/2 of the development cost and the prefecture (including designated and core cities) subsidizes 1/4 to the facility operator.
| Facility type | Basis |
|---|---|
| Relief facilities | Relief facilities and similar under Article 38 of the Public Assistance Act |
| Child welfare facilities | Residential facilities for children with disabilities and similar under Article 7 of the Child Welfare Act |
| Disability facilities | Disability welfare service establishments and similar under Article 5 of the Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities Act |
| Other facilities | Social work sheltered workshops and similar under Article 2(2) of the Social Welfare Act |
In MEXT's April 2026 list, the row for disability facilities and similar shows this subsidy under the name Social Welfare Facility Development Subsidy. Nagaoka's employment support facility used it, and of the total renovation cost of about ¥235M, subsidies came to about ¥55M (table in the first section). Check eligible costs and amounts with the prefecture.
Elderly and Children's Facilities
The same page also lists the Regional Care and Welfare Space Development Grant under the Health and Welfare Bureau for the Elderly and the Next-Generation Development Support Facility Grant under the Children and Families Bureau. Nishiwaga's small-scale multifunctional home, which opened in FY2012, used two MHLW subsidies for care service facility development and facility opening preparation costs (table in the first section). Nurseries, after-school clubs and outpatient facilities for children with disabilities are covered with FY2026 documents in Closed Schools × Childcare.
The Depopulated-Area Grant Goes to Municipalities
The Idle Facility Redevelopment Project develops facilities that reuse idle buildings in depopulated areas for inter-regional exchange and local development. Eligible recipients are municipalities with depopulated areas, and partial-affairs associations and similar bodies in which at least half of the member municipalities have depopulated areas. One requirement is that the project makes effective use of idle buildings such as unused houses, school buildings and other facilities no longer used for their original purpose. The grant is one third of eligible costs, and eligible costs are capped at ¥60 million per project. Operators are not among the eligible recipients, so using it means structuring the work as a municipal project. Other ministries' programs are in Subsidies for Closed School Reuse.
MEXT Information and WAM Loans
MEXT updates its list of closed school facilities seeking a new use every month, publishes collections of reuse cases, and runs reuse promotion events.
National and local governments subsidize the development of social welfare facilities, but operators such as social welfare corporations still bear part of the cost, and the Welfare and Medical Service Agency (WAM) provides loans for it. Nishiwaga's operator also started with national subsidies and borrowing.
Facility Standards and Cases by Service Type
Equipment rules for employment support, daily life care and group homes, and how Miharu, Nagaoka and Nishiwaga use their buildings
Continuous Employment Support and Daily Life Care
Daily life care and Type A employment support offices must have a training and work room, a consultation room, washrooms, toilets, a multipurpose room and other necessary facilities. The training and work room must be large enough not to hinder training or work and be equipped with the necessary machinery and tools. The Type A provisions apply to Type B as well. Because the standards set no figure for floor area, check classroom size, user numbers and the work involved with the designating authority.
The former Sawaishi Elementary School in Miharu is a welfare farming facility that employs people with disabilities and others in hydroponic leafy vegetable production. Because each classroom is a separate room, people can move between places and change their mood as they work rather than staying in one spot all day. The former Shimada Elementary School in Nagaoka is an employment support facility for people with disabilities running businesses such as a restaurant and a bakery.
Group Homes (Community Living Support)
A community living home must be in a residential area, or an area with comparable opportunities for contact with users' families and local residents, and outside the grounds of residential institutions and hospitals. Its capacity is 2 to 10 residents, or 2 to 20 (30 where the prefectural governor finds it especially necessary) when an existing building is used. A room in a unit is for one person (two where needed for service provision) and must be 7.43 m² or more excluding storage.
Before looking at floor area, check with the designating authority whether the closed school's location meets this area requirement.
Elderly Care Facilities
At the former Ecchuhata Elementary School in Nishiwaga, the ground floor of the two-storey building was renovated into an office, rooms, a dining area and similar, and the facility takes older people from across the town, mainly residents of the former school district, with 7,395 user-days in FY2021. Most staff are town residents, and 15 jobs, full-time and part-time, were created. Only the old school building is lent to the corporation, while the schoolyard is used for community sports days and Bon dances. Equipment standards for long-term care service establishments are not covered in this article; check with the designating authority.
What to Check After Opening
The fee revision rate, when a municipality can cancel a contract, repair responsibilities, and transport
Fee Revisions
The FY2024 revision of disability welfare service fees was set at plus 1.12 percent overall, a level the ministry describes as exceeding plus 1.5 percent once the consolidation of the working-conditions add-on is counted alongside it.
The revision rate is an overall figure; check base fees and add-ons for each service in the revision documents. Build these three into the financial plan:
- The number of users and expected attendance days or occupancy
- The add-ons you can claim and the staffing needed to meet their requirements
- The effect of unit changes in the next fee revision
Contracts, Repairs and Transport
Contracts: Lent ordinary property can be taken back if the municipality needs it for public use (previous section). Write the term, renewal conditions and treatment of renovation costs on cancellation into the contract.
Repairs: Clarify in the contract which repairs are the operator's responsibility versus the municipality's. In Nagaoka, repairing deformed columns and adjusting sunken foundations cost money (previous section).
Transport: Closed schools are not always conveniently located. Model the impact of vehicle procurement and operation costs on your financial projections.
No one in Nishiwaga's operating corporation had experience starting a care business; they studied the law from scratch, strengthened staff skills through training, and cleared the accumulated deficit a little over eight years after starting.
Next Steps
The first step is to find candidate schools in MEXT's list of closed school facilities currently seeking uses, and ask the listed contact about the type of property (administrative or ordinary), lending or transfer conditions, and whether a seismic assessment exists.
In parallel, work out the facility cost difference with Abandoned School × Welfare Facility Revenue Model and check available programs in Subsidies for Closed School Reuse.
Abandoned School × Welfare Facility Revenue Model
Type B employment support fees, how to work out the facility cost difference, and the Nishiwaga, Nagaoka and Yuni cases
Operating Public Facilities Through Disability Welfare Reimbursements
How statutory reimbursements work, why they are stable, and how the public facility utilization model is structured
Subsidies for Closed School Reuse
Cost shares and eligible applicants, checked against MEXT's April 2026 list and each ministry's documents
Abandoned School Use Change and the Building Standards Act
Floor areas that trigger change-of-use confirmation, and conditions for fire compartments, smoke control and interior finish restrictions, checked against the articles
References
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)
Minna no Haiko Project: List of Closed School Facilities Currently Seeking Uses — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
Local Autonomy Act (Act No. 67 of 1947) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
Standards for Personnel, Facilities and Operation of Designated Disability Welfare Services (MHLW Ordinance No. 171 of 2006) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
Act on Promotion of Smooth Transportation, etc. of Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities (Act No. 91 of 2006) — e-Gov Legal Database (e-Gov)
Guidelines for Promoting Seismic Retrofitting of School Facilities — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
Development and Operation of Social Welfare Facilities — Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2026)
Main National Subsidy Programs Available for Using Closed School Facilities (as of April 2026) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
Approval of Asset Disposition for Public School Facility Improvement Subsidies (Notice No. 1190, 31 March 2026) — Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (2026)
Grant Rules and Forms for the Grant for the Sustainable Development of Depopulated Areas — Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (2024)
Outline of the FY2024 Revision of Disability Welfare Service Fees — MHLW Reimbursement Revision Review Team (2024)
