Short answer: Hiroshima Prefecture runs a single front door for its akiya listings: Minto (ひろしま空き家バンク「みんと。」), opened in March 2017, which gathers the akiya banks of the prefecture's cities and towns on one site. It is Japanese-only, so search with browser translation and the words 空き家バンク, 売買 (sale) and 賃貸 (rental). Subsidies are municipal, and one of the best known, Onomichi's renovation subsidy, closed for fiscal 2026 once its budget was used. The deciding hazard in Hiroshima is landslides: the prefecture's own records show sediment disasters at 1,242 locations in the July 2018 heavy rain, and it was the first in Japan to designate landslide warning zones. A house here can be a bargain and still sit under a slope.
Minto. The prefecture's akiya bank page explains that Minto, at minto-hiroshima.jp, was created on 29 March 2017 to present, in one easy-to-understand website, vacant property information that cities and towns had published separately. You can filter by municipality, by sale or rental, by price and by character, for example near the sea, on an island or an old farmhouse. Beyond listings, the site carries relocation stories, renovation case studies and a blog-style section on unusual properties. The prefecture's Housing Division (082-513-4166) is the contact. The pages reviewed are in Japanese.
Municipal pages and the subsidy list. Each city and town's contact details are shown on Minto, and the prefecture maintains a list of akiya-related subsidies by municipality at 広島県内市町における空き家関係補助事業一覧. It is the fastest way to see which towns offer renovation or belongings-disposal subsidies.
Relocation portal. The prefecture's relocation portal Hiroshima Kurashi (交流定住ポータルサイト「広島暮らし」) covers jobs, housing and support systems by municipality, also in Japanese.
National akiya banks. At Home and LIFULL HOME'S run national banks that include Hiroshima municipalities. Use Minto as the main search and the national sites as a cross-check. The rules that sit behind all of them are explained in our akiya bank conditions guide.
Onomichi City's akiya renovation support subsidy covers two thirds of the renovation cost up to ¥300,000. It applies only to houses registered with one of Onomichi's four official akiya banks that have been empty for about a year or more and are not designated as "specified vacant houses". The occupant conditions are strict: a person outside the owner's third degree of kinship must move in (changing their registered address), generally within 30 days of finishing the work, and intend to live there for at least ten years. As of the page reviewed, fiscal 2026 applications had closed because the budget limit was reached. The page does not mention foreign nationals. The lessons apply everywhere: the subsidy is small, the budget can run out, and you should not start work before the city says you may.
The prefecture's fiscal 2026 page lists ¥600,000 for a single person, ¥1,000,000 for a household, and ¥1,000,000 more for each child under 18 who moves with you, across 18 cities and towns including Hiroshima City, Kure, Takehara, Mihara, Onomichi and Fukuyama. The origin condition follows the national scheme (Cabinet Office): five years in the 23 wards out of the last ten, or commuting there, and one continuous year immediately before moving. You then need to qualify through a job listed on the prefecture's job site, telework of at least 20 hours a week, a start-up that receives support, or specialist talent matching. The page adds that, because the budget is limited, eligible people may not receive payment, and it urges early consultation with the destination municipality. It does not mention foreign nationals, and a buyer moving from overseas would not meet the origin test as written.
Is the slope above the house a problem? An Akiya Check report puts the landslide zone, flood depth, elevation and zoning data for the exact lot in one English report (emailed; PDF on request) and tells you what to ask next. Compare 3 sets three Hiroshima candidates side by side.
Single report $49 · Compare 3 $99 Free 12-point checklistThe prefecture's landslide portal page on the July 2018 heavy rain records sediment disasters at 1,242 locations in the prefecture and building damage affecting 15,750 buildings, the highest July damage on record for the prefecture. The Cabinet Office's White Paper summary counts 237 deaths for the whole event, of which 115 were in Hiroshima Prefecture, and 2,581 sediment disasters nationwide. Different counts (direct deaths, disaster-related deaths) produce different totals, so quote the source and date whenever you quote a number.
The prefecture's designation page says it made Japan's first landslide warning zone designation on 31 March 2003, and that the designation under its basic survey plan was completed on 26 March 2020, with additional areas designated after the 2018 disaster. You can check an address on the prefecture's landslide map. Two zone types matter. A warning zone (土砂災害警戒区域) is where landslides could endanger life or property; a special warning zone (特別警戒区域) is where buildings may be destroyed with serious danger to residents. The prefecture's page on building in special warning zones explains the structural standards in Article 80-3 of the Building Standards Law for new buildings with living rooms, and a report on countermeasure works at completion for ordinary houses (from 1 August 2019). It does not address existing buildings, so if a house you like is in a special warning zone, ask the municipality what that means for repairs, extensions or rebuilding, and ask your insurer. See also saikenchiku fuka for rebuild limits from road access.
The Japan Meteorological Agency's normals for 1991 to 2020 count 3.0 typhoon approaches a year for the Chugoku region, against 5.8 for the Japanese mainland as a whole (JMA typhoon normals; an "approach" means the centre passes within 300 km of a weather station). A roof that has been empty for years still needs inspecting whatever the average.
Check the flood depth and tsunami/storm-surge layers on the national hazard map for river-delta and coastal addresses, and the liquefaction layers described in our liquefaction guide for reclaimed land.
Minto (ひろしま空き家バンク「みんと。」, minto-hiroshima.jp) is a website opened by Hiroshima Prefecture on 29 March 2017 that gathers the akiya information previously posted separately by each city and town. You can filter by municipality, sale or rental, price and features such as sea or island locations and old farmhouses. The pages reviewed are in Japanese only.
It covers two thirds of renovation costs up to ¥300,000 for houses registered with an Onomichi akiya bank, and requires someone outside the owner's third degree of kinship to move in, usually within 30 days of completion, and intend to stay at least ten years. The city's page says fiscal 2026 applications have closed because the budget was reached, and it does not mention nationality.
The prefecture's fiscal 2026 page lists ¥600,000 for a single person, ¥1,000,000 for a household and ¥1,000,000 more per child under 18, for people who lived in or commuted to Tokyo's 23 wards. It warns that the budget is limited, so eligible applicants may not receive payment, and it does not mention foreign nationals.
The prefecture reports sediment disasters at 1,242 locations in the July 2018 heavy rain, and the Cabinet Office counts 115 deaths in Hiroshima Prefecture out of 237 nationwide. Hiroshima made the first landslide warning zone designation in Japan in 2003, so the zone maps are mature and should be checked for every address.
New buildings with living rooms in a special warning zone must meet structural standards under Article 80-3 of the Building Standards Law, and the prefecture requires a countermeasure work status report at completion for ordinary houses. The prefecture's page does not discuss existing houses, so ask the municipality what applies to the house you are considering.
Have a specific listing in mind? Get the official zoning, hazard and transaction data for that exact lot — plus the questions to send the agent — in one report.
Get a $49 risk report Free 12-point checklistThis guide is general information based on public sources cited above. It is not legal, tax, or real-estate brokerage advice. Confirm every item for a specific property with the agent, the municipality, and licensed professionals.