# Creating a Comfortable Living Space

Section 1

## Realizing Affluent Residential Living

## 1 Securing Stability of Residential Living and Advancing its Betterment

In accordance with the new release of the Housing Life Master Plan approved at the March 2011 Cabinet meeting, covering FY 2011 to FY 2020, to reflect the full-scale emergence of an aging society with falling birth-rates, declining population and families, changes in the socio-economic climate such as difficult employment and income environment, needs for housing life support services and more, the MLIT is advancing the implementation of measures aimed at securing the stability of residential living and its betterment with the following goals: a. Building a living environment that supports safe, secure and affluent residential living; b. Proper management and revitalization of housing; c. Preparing the environment for a housing market in which diverse housing needs are properly fulfilled; and d. Assuring the stability of housing for those who require special housing consideration.

## (1) Building a living environment that supports safe, secure and affluent residential living

To create safe, secure housing and residential environments, we are advancing earthquake-resistant construction of houses and buildings to be better prepared for large-scale earthquakes, while at the same time promoting “Smart Wellness Residences and Cities,” where different types of residences—such as households with elderly people, households with disabled people, or households raising children—can interact to create places to live that are safe and healthy. It also encourages the construction of housing with better energy-saving performance, utilization of local wood, etc. to get closer to the goal of realizing a low-carbon society.

The MLIT is also keen to preserve and form townscape and scenic beauty to add to the comfort and affluence of residential life, while enhancing the convenience of houses for people like the elderly living in urban areas, based on the concept of universal designs.

## (2) Proper management and renewal of housing

Apartments have become a vital mode of housing for the public, with the number of dwelling units stocked reached about 6.13 million (as of the end of 2014). In promoting appropriate maintenance and regeneration of them, we need to respond to various challenges such as shortages of bearers of management associations and failed management due to delinquency in paying service charges on the back of aging population and other changes.

Therefore, in March 2016, we revised the Standard Apartment House Management Bylaws that set forth, among other things, use of external specialists, measures against delinquency in payment of service charges, and disclosure of building management status.

In order to facilitate the renewal of aging apartment buildings, the “Law to Revise a Part of Laws related to the Facilitation of the Reconstruction of Apartment Buildings”—which contains the establishment of an apartment building premises sale system as well as special provision for easing the floor-area ratio—was established in June 2014 and put into effect in December of the same year.

Furthermore, the Bill to Partially Amend the Act on Special Measures concerning Urban Reconstruction was decided by the Cabinet in February 2016 and submitted to the Diet.

## (3) Preparing the environment for a housing market in which diverse housing needs are properly fulfilled

a. Preparing a market that facilitates the smooth trading of existing houses

Based on the “Used Housing/Renovation Total Plan” (March 2012) and the “Research Report on the Distribution Promotion/Utilization of Used Housing” (June 2013), efforts of (a) and (b) were promoted to set up a market that facilitates