在日本，前租户惨死的房屋被称为“事故物件”（jiko bukken）。根据死因的惨烈程度，这些房产的售价或租金通常比市场价格低10%到50%，由于住房成本上涨，它们对公众的吸引力越来越大。由房产投资者大岛てる运营的一个热门网站在全国范围内绘制了这些事故物件的地图，凸显了公众对这一话题的猎奇心理。尽管日本非常迷信，2024年的一项调查显示三分之一的人口相信有神灵存在，但一些商业服务已经出现来应对这些恐惧，例如东京的Kachimode公司，它使用热成像摄像机来认证房屋没有超自然活动。

人口结构的变化使事故房变得更加普遍，政府在2025年记录了超过20000起“孤独死”（定义为独自死亡且至少八天未被发现）。为了帮助老年租客和房东，政府于2021年发布了一项指南，规定除非发生严重腐烂等特殊情况，否则房东无需披露孤独死事件。这一监管变化旨在减少向面临孤独死风险的老年群体出租房屋所带来的负面标签。

不断上涨的租赁成本，例如东京中心城区单身公寓的平均租金在三月份同比上涨了13%（连续第22个月创下历史新高），正促使租户采取更加务实的态度。最近的一项调查表明，大多数日本人在现在会考虑居住在事故物件中。此外，投资者也被这些房产所吸引，因为在法律上，死亡事件在过去三年后无需披露，从而允许他们折价购买并在日后以全额市场价售出。

In Japan, properties where former tenants met gruesome ends are known as *jiko bukken*, or "incident properties." These properties are discounted by 10% to 50% below market value depending on the severity of the death, making them increasingly attractive to the public due to rising housing costs. A popular website run by property investor Oshima Teru maps these properties nationwide, highlighting the public's morbid fascination. Although Japan is highly superstitious, with a 2024 survey revealing that a third of the population believes in spirits, commercial services have emerged to address these fears, including Tokyo firm Kachimode, which uses thermal cameras to certify properties as free of paranormal activity.

Demographic shifts are making incident properties more common, with the government recording over 20,000 *kodokushi* (lonely deaths, defined as dying alone and remaining undiscovered for at least eight days) in 2025. To assist elderly renters and landlords, the government issued a 2021 guideline stating that landlords do not need to disclose lonely deaths unless extraordinary circumstances like severe decomposition occur. This regulatory change aims to reduce the stigma associated with renting to older demographics who are at risk of lonely deaths.

Escalating rental costs, such as Tokyo's average studio rents rising by 13% year-on-year in March—marking a record high for the 22nd consecutive month—are driving tenants toward a more pragmatic approach. A recent survey indicates that a majority of Japanese would now consider living in a *jiko bukken*. Furthermore, investors are attracted to these properties because deaths legally do not need to be disclosed after three years, allowing them to purchase at a discount and later resell at full market value.

Source: Haunted houses are in demand in Japa

Subtitle: What’s behind the growing desire for once-shunned “incident properties”?

Dateline: Jul 16, 2026 05:01 AM | Tokyo