Ghost Neighborhoods - Edit

[dukealien]

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Hi duke,
bit confused by 'Japan' - who is it that doesn't think the apartments are worth 'tearing down' and why?
(And what's with preferring a new build to buying a 'second-hand' property?)

Wondered if reordering 'Japan' might be beneficial, as in

Japan:
Genkai shūraku
ancestors mourning
children unconceived
tenantless apartments
meticulously built
not worth tearing down


Best, Knot

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Thanks, this points out a missing factor that needs to be included somehow - that Japanese houses traditionally last about 25 years, then are torn down and rebuilt (perhaps a carryover from past ages of fire and earthquake). The houses of those who have passed would *normally* be torn down and replaced - but with such lean successor generations coming up, there would be no market for the fresh replacements, so no point in clearing the sites.

I hesitate to include foreign language when I don't know the connotation as well as the dictionary definition: it's a good way to make a (greater) fool of onesself. Bad enough to mention a phase of the moon or kind of flowering tree without knowing its extended meanings!