(どう)

how / in what way

(にほん)

Japan

(あきや)

empty house, vacant house

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(くに)

country; the government

(ちょうさ)

investigation; survey

(ぜんこく)

nationwide; the whole country

(じゅうたく)

housing; residence

(およそ)

approximately, roughly

(ななけん)

seven houses (軒 counts buildings)

(いっけん)

one building, a single shop

(じんこう)

population

(へる)

to decrease / to diminish

(ちほう)

region; area

(とし)

city; urban area

(うつりすむ)

to move (house) and settle

(ひと)

person / people

(おおい)

many

(おもな)

main; principal

(りゆう)

reason; cause

(そのまま)

as it is, unchanged

(たてもの)

building

(ふるい)

old (things)

(きけん)

danger; risk

(ごみ)

trash, garbage

(すてる)

to throw away; to discard

(かじ)

fire (accident)

(おきる)

to happen, occur

(しんぱい)

worry / concern

(そのため)

therefore; for that reason

(じちたい)

local government / municipality

(もちぬし)

owner

(しゅうり)

repair

(とりこわし)

demolition, tearing down

(もとめる)

to seek, request

(いっぽう)

on the other hand / meanwhile

(いかす)

to make use of, to put to good use

(うごき)

movement; trend

(ひろがる)

to spread

(わかい)

young

(ふうふ)

married couple

(やすい)

cheap / inexpensive

(かりる)

to borrow

(すむ)

to live; to reside

(かいしゃ)

company

(しごとば)

workplace, workshop

(つかう)

to use

(れい)

example; case

(かいしゅう)

renovation, refurbishment

(ひよう)

expense, cost

(いちぶ)

part, portion

(しえん)

support; aid; assistance

(せいど)

system; institution

(ようい)

preparation; readiness

to continue doing ...

Verb stem + 続ける expresses continuing an action. The て-form あげ続ける means 'continue giving'. A common compound verb pattern.

is doing, has been doing (ongoing state/action)

Expresses a continuing action or resulting state. Formed with て-form + いる. Can describe an action in progress or a state resulting from a past change.

according to ...

Cites a source of information. The noun before によると is the source. Often followed by a reported statement.

nominalizer (the act of ~)

Turns verbs into nouns — changing one's awareness (意識を変えること), not over-buying (買いすぎないこと), and using leftovers well (使うこと).

Do ~ in advance (preparation)

Indicates doing something in advance for future readiness. Companies need to decide procedures in advance.

to become (い-adjective)

Expresses a change of state for い-adjectives. Drop the final い and add くなる. Indicates something has changed or will change to a new state.

passive voice: was/were ~ed

Passive form indicating that the subject receives the action. '食べられて' means 'were eaten'. Central grammar of this article about tulips being eaten by deer.

doing things like ~ and ~

Lists representative actions among several. Implies there are other actions too. Used twice in this article.

in response to ~; toward ~

Signals Israel's response to the international criticism mentioned previously.

as / in the role of

Marks the role, capacity, or status in which something is treated. Used here as 特別な史跡として (as a special historic site).

増え続ける空き家をどう生かすか

How can we make use of the ever-growing number of empty houses?

日本では、空き家が増え続けています。

In Japan, the number of vacant houses keeps rising.

国の調査によると、全国の住宅のおよそ七軒に一軒が空き家です。

According to a national survey, roughly one in every seven homes in the country is vacant.

人口が減っていることや、地方から都市へ移り住む人が多いことが主な理由です。

The main reasons are that the population is shrinking and that many people move from rural areas to the cities.

空き家をそのままにしておくと、建物が古くなって危険です。

If a vacant house is left as it is, the building deteriorates and becomes dangerous.

ごみが捨てられたり、火事が起きたりする心配もあります。

There are also worries that rubbish will be dumped there or that a fire will break out.

そのため、自治体は持ち主に対して、修理や取り壊しを求めています。

For that reason, local governments are asking owners to repair or demolish them.

一方で、空き家を生かす動きも広がっています。

On the other hand, efforts to put vacant houses to good use are also spreading.

若い夫婦が安く借りて住んだり、会社が仕事場として使ったりする例が増えました。

Cases have increased where young couples rent them cheaply and live in them, or companies use them as workplaces.

国も、改修の費用を一部支援する制度を用意しています。

The national government has also set up a scheme that covers part of the renovation costs.