In order to combat a growing population crisis, Japanese authorities are listing some abandoned houses — also known as “akiya” — for $500.

I’m in the midst of renovating part of the big house into an outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven and a traditional Japanese wood-fired cook stove, which I plan to use for culinary retreats.

Rural Japan might be just the right place to raise the next generation of Japanese children. Alexandra Harney is an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, sponsored by ...