400 yr old house in Osaka to be demolished
The owner of the Watanabe Residence in Osaka's Yodogawa-ku has had the historical listing cancelled as he plans to demolish the home and sell the land in order to pay a high inheritance tax bill.
The current owner inherited the house two years ago and has not been able to pay the inheritance taxes on the property. An application was made to Osaka's Board of Education to remove the listing, so that the property could be razed and sold. The Board of Education said they often receive applications to remove listings due to fire and other damage, but it is rare to receive a request due to difficulty paying taxes.Read more
Kepco demolishing old head office in Osaka
The Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) announced that they will be demolishing and rebuilding their former head office in Osaka from April 2012. Completion of the new building is scheduled for April, 2014.Read more
[Foreclosed] Ruins of Kobe Ijinkan
Auction estimate: 65,000,000 Yen
The ruins of a former ijinkan (western-style foreign residence) in Kobe's Kitano area are up for public auction.
Built in the Taisho period (1912 ~ 1926), the home was originally called the Bajaj Residence. During the pre-war days it was the official residence of the Iranian Consul General.Read more
Brick warehouse in Gunma at risk of demolition
A 90 year old red-brick warehouse built during the Taisho period in Ora Town, Gunma, is at risk of being demolished in the near future.
The building was once used in the production of "nakanogasuri" - a style of cloth-weaving dyed with wooden patterns, and is now owned by the JA Oura Tatebayashi Agricultural Cooperative (JA). The warehouse suffered structural damage during the Tohoku earthquake and the owner has expressed intent to demolish the structure.Read more
Former British Embassy Villa in Nikko to be open to public
Tochigi Prefecture is making plans to restore and open up the former villa of the British Embassy on Lake Chuzenji to the public as a way to promote tourism in the Nikko area.
The prefecture has allocated 6 million Yen in their 2012 budget to start work on analyzing the foundations and earthquake-resistance of the villa. After carrying out any necessary repairs, the villa is scheduled to be open to the public from 2014.Read more
Former village office in Yamagata to be demolished
The former Kogane Village Office in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, is going to be demolished as the historical property has become too difficult to maintain. Tsuruoka City owns the property and does not have the financial ability to preserve and maintain the building.Read more
1927 Kudanshita Bldg to be demolished
The 85-year old Kudanshita Building in Kandajinbocho, Chiyoda-ku, will soon be demolished once the last remaining occupant moves out.
Kudanshita Bldg is a multi-tenant building in Kandajinbocho, Chiyoda-ku. It's original name was Imagawakouji Cooperative Building. Completed in 1927, the Kudanshita Building is one of Tokyo's landmark buildings completed during the reconstruction following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. The local shopkeepers whose premises were destroyed in the earthquake had pooled their savings together to construct this building. At the time they were each given an ownership share of the property.Read more