Crassone, Demolition Tech Company, Signs 'Partnership Agreement on Promotion of Vacant House Countermeasures' with Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture

Left: Mayor of Himeji City　Right: Crassone Executive Officer Kohei Yamada

Crassone Co., Ltd. (Nagoya, Aichi; Representative Director & CEO: Teppei Kawaguchi; hereinafter "the Company"), operator of the demolition construction DX platform "Crassone," has signed the "Agreement on Promotion of Vacant House Countermeasures in Himeji City" with Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture (hereinafter "Himeji City"). As a measure against the vacant house problem, which has become a social issue nationwide, the Company aims to promote the removal of vacant houses in Himeji City and create a safe and secure community. With this agreement, the Company's track record of municipal partnerships has reached 196 municipalities (including organizations involved in administrative operations), with 17 municipalities in Hyogo Prefecture, covering approximately 67% of the population in Hyogo Prefecture (*1).

Background of the Agreement

In recent years, vacant houses have increased and become a social issue. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' "2023 Housing and Land Survey" (*2), the number of vacant houses nationwide stands at 9 million, with a vacancy rate of 13.8%—the highest level ever recorded. In Hyogo Prefecture, the number of vacant houses is 386,900, and the ratio of vacant houses to total households has increased by 0.4 percentage points from the previous survey to 13.8%.

In Himeji City, due to population decline and the aging of the population, the vacancy rate exceeds the national average, making vacant house countermeasures a critical local issue. In response to this challenge, the "Himeji City Vacant House Countermeasures Plan" was formulated in fiscal year 2022, and measures have been advanced based on the fundamental principles of proper management through citizen collaboration, promotion of utilization, and prevention of the emergence of specified vacant houses—including awareness activities for owners, early utilization, and guidance regarding impacts on the living environment. However, addressing vacant houses with diverse circumstances such as complex inheritance situations and aging owners required detailed support utilizing specialized knowledge and experience in demolition and vacant house countermeasures in general, beyond administrative efforts alone.

The Company operates "Crassone," a service that matches property owners with more than 2,300 specialized construction companies nationwide in the field of demolition construction, with a cumulative track record of over 160,000 users (*3). In addition, public-private partnership vacant house countermeasure projects utilizing the "Demolition Cost Simulator" and "Home End-of-Life Navigation" have been selected for three consecutive years from fiscal year 2021 through fiscal year 2023 under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "Vacant House Countermeasures Model Project Utilizing the Housing Market," and the Company is currently advancing public-private partnership vacant house countermeasures with 196 municipalities nationwide (including Himeji City).

This time, leveraging the respective resources and strengths of Himeji City and the Company, a partnership agreement has been concluded with the goal of resolving the vacant house problem within Himeji City and promoting the suppression, elimination, and utilization of poorly managed vacant houses. Through these efforts, the Company aims to resolve vacant house issues while contributing to the advancement of municipal DX—improving the quality of resident-facing services and operational efficiency for municipal staff—through IT technology and data utilization, including the Company-operated "Home End-of-Life Navigation."

Main Initiatives Under the Agreement

・ Introduction of "Home End-of-Life Navigation," which provides estimated demolition costs and land sale assessment prices (URL: https://www.crassone.jp/simulator/navi/hyogo/himejishi)

・ Provision of a "Troublesome Vacant House Notification Form" allowing residents to report problematic vacant houses in their neighborhood to the municipality...