Midori City Vacant Store and House Utilization Subsidy

(1) Overview: The Midori City Vacant Store and House Utilization Subsidy (Notification No.27 of March 29, 2024; partial amendment No.54 of 2026) promotes opening of new businesses in vacant stores and vacant residential buildings within Midori City (Gunma Prefecture), aiming to revitalize commerce and the local economy. The program covers two project types: vacant-store-utilization projects and vacant-house-utilization projects. Higher subsidy ceilings apply when the property is located inside the city's designated priority area (residence-induction zone of the Location Optimization Plan). (2) Eligibility: Eligible applicants are individuals, corporations or groups whose principal business falls under the SME Basic Act Art.2(1)(3) services industry or (4) retail industry, as well as civic groups, NPOs and social-welfare corporations engaged in regional revitalization. They must operate at least five days a week (in principle), hold or be reasonably expected to obtain required licenses, present a feasible continuing business plan, and continue operations for at least five years after refurbishment. Applicants who started the work before the grant decision, who received other national/prefectural/city subsidies, who have unpaid municipal taxes, who operate only at night (after 17:00), unattended sales, sex-related businesses, or any organized-crime affiliates are excluded. (3) Eligible expenses: (a) Refurbishment and equipment expenses for the vacant store/house, limited to the scope necessary for the new business; (b) Rent of the store (excluding deposit, key money, security deposit, management fees, common-area fees and rent paid to relatives within the second degree of kinship of the owner). Add-on bonuses are available: JPY 300,000 for in-migrant entrepreneurs who relocate into the city by the final report, JPY 100,000 for use of a property registered in the city's vacant-store registry, and JPY 100,000 for completion of a designated start-up support program. Expenses for the portion shared with residential use are excluded. (4) Rate, ceiling, schedule and tips: Subsidy rate is up to one-half (1/2) for both expense categories. Refurbishment/equipment ceiling is JPY 500,000 (one-off), raised to JPY 1,500,000 in the priority area. Rent subsidy is capped at JPY 50,000 per month for 12 months from the month after opening; amounts below JPY 1,000 are rounded down. Applicants submit Form No.1 with a business plan (Form 2), itemized quotes, two-year cash-flow plan, license documents, residence/articles of association, tax-clearance certificate, oath (Form 3), Gunma Police officer roster (Form 4), owner's consent (Form 5), real-estate registry, and other required documents. After project completion, an implementation report (Form 9) is due within one month; payment is requested via Form 12 after the amount is fixed (Form 11). Vacating the property within five years triggers refund obligations of 20%–100% based on the elapsed period.