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A Transformative Collaboration: Akisapo and Gaia Resort

On June 27, 2025, a significant partnership was established between Ject One Inc., spearheaded by CEO Mikio Okawa, and Gaia Inc., led by CEO Kunihiro Aizawa. This agreement, signed at Ject One’s headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, sets out to address Japan’s pressing vacant home crisis and foster a community-centered society. This partnership is an innovative initiative aimed at leveraging vacant homes to create a sustainable model for regional development by integrating tourism, welfare, and agriculture.

Understanding the Challenge

Japan faces a dire scenario as the challenges of a declining birthrate and an aging population converge, particularly causing the increase in vacant homes in both urban and rural areas. The two companies recognize these vacant properties as potential resources rather than mere burdens, intending to redevelop them to add new value to local communities.

Ject One has successfully developed “Akisapo,” a one-stop support system focused on the purchase, regeneration, and utilization of vacant homes, primarily in the Kanto and Kansai regions. Meanwhile, Gaia operates “Gaia Resort,” emphasizing the repurposing of vacant homes and unused lands into accommodations, welfare, and agricultural spaces through initiatives like the “Albergo Diffuso” concept and the “Zao Welfare Forest Plan,” aiming at revitalizing entire communities.

Framework of the Partnership

The collaboration will adopt a phased approach to gradually scale and broaden the projects, leading to a concrete implementation of a community regeneration model. The First Step involves focusing on the model region of Zao, where Gaia Resort will share information about vacant properties within its Albergo Diffuso certification areas with Akisapo, allowing Ject One to conduct renovations. The revitalized properties will then be operated by Gaia under a lodging service, implementing exit strategies related to selling, leasing, or operating these properties. Furthermore, larger buildings such as old welfare facilities will be rejuvenated in correlation with the Zao Welfare Forest Plan, aiming to integrate community functions.

In the Second Step, Gaia will furnish support for accommodation operation and branding for properties that Akisapo has already revitalized across the nation, thereby enhancing their value proposition. For properties slated for future regeneration, Gaia will engage from the planning stages, overseeing community consensus-building, strategic planning, opening support, and operational backing, shifting from mere renovation to nurturing co-existing accommodation facilities in collaboration with the community.

The Final Step envisions a comprehensive collaboration in rejuvenating aging resort facilities and underutilized villa sites into hotels, tourism hubs, and community infrastructures, transforming not just individual vacant homes but the entire region into an “active lodging, living, and welfare space.” This initiative aspires to develop a model that explores new forms of tourism and revitalizes local economies.

The Vision Ahead

Through the transition of “vacant homes” into “AKIYA,” Ject One seeks to develop new hubs of interaction that connect residents and visitors, redefining societal burdens into hopeful futures. Conversely, Gaia is striving to create a self-organizing and evolving community through the regenerative use of vacant homes and local assets based on Gaia theory, leveraging organic connections across various sectors.

The signing ceremony for this partnership attracted key executives, including Ject One’s Mikio Okawa and Tatsuya Shirasaki, along with Gaia’s Kunihiro Aizawa and other top officials. This collaboration is a significant step towards realizing a comprehensive revitalization model that bridges local government, welfare providers, and tourism businesses, aspiring for nationwide dissemination.

This joint endeavor aims to tackle Japan’s empty home crisis and contribute to regional revitalization and community-oriented living, marking the beginning of a transformative journey towards sustainable development.