Summary: Houses in small towns in Japan are given away for free.

Japan is now facing an unusual property problem – more homes than people to live in them. According to statistics, in 2013, there were a total of 61m houses and 52m households in Japan. The aging society is going to make the situation worse. 

Full article: https://www.15mins.today/blog/702-about-japan-japan-has-so-many-vacant-homes-it-s-giving-them-away 

Vocabulary and Sample Sentences: Prefecture n. – a district under the authority of a prefect or governor. Tokyo prefecture is the second largest single metropolitan area in the world behind New York. 

Household n. – a house and its occupants regarded as a unit. The average number of people per household in Taiwan is 3.07. 

Next summary: Embetsu agricultural high school in northern Hokkaido avoided being shut down by reviving the school’s sheep farming and lamb products that is now considered a souvenir / local specialty. 

Vocabulary and Sample Sentences: 

Sth is at stake idiom. – something is being risked and may be lost or damaged. The school’s survival was at stake if it wasn’t for the great lamb products they produced. 

Breeding n. The mating and production of offspring by animals. The Embetsu high school was responsible for the breeding of Suffolk sheep.