What are jiko bukken?
The term roughly means “accident property” and refers to real estate where a murder, a suicide or an unnoticed death has taken place. Landlords are required to tell prospective tenants. Such apartments are offered at much lower rents and still have trouble finding tenants. A Japanese website collects tens of thousands of these addresses on a map, and a great many people visit it every day.
Why the fear runs so deep
In Shinto, death is a source of kegare, an impurity that clings to places. Added to this is the idea of onryō, vengeful spirits of people who died violently or full of resentment. They make no distinction between the guilty and bystanders. In the eyes of many, moving into such an apartment means moving in with a dead person.
A mirror of society
Many jiko bukken are the result not of crimes but of kodokushi, the lonely death. People die alone and are found only weeks or months later. These apartments also tell the story of an aging society in which many people live without any social contact.