Kenji Kawada, Representative Director, AlbaLink Co., Ltd.

Giving "problematic real estate" a new role.

Kenji Kawata, Representative Director, AlbaLink Co., Ltd.

■ Profile
While still a student, he founded a web marketing business and simultaneously began investing in vacant properties. Seeing great potential in the expanding vacant property market, he acquired Room Select Co., Ltd. (now AlbaLink Co., Ltd.) in May 2019 after selling his web marketing business. He then dedicated himself to the business of buying and reselling vacant properties.

AlbaLink Co., Ltd. is a real estate IT company specializing in the purchase, resale, and utilization of vacant houses. Operating in all 47 prefectures of Japan, they have handled approximately 5 consultations through web media, SEO strategies, and advertising management. We interviewed Kenji Kawada, the representative director who acquired the company and expanded its business into the vacant and problematic real estate sector, about his thoughts on the business and his approach to the vacant house problem.

During my university years, I originally wanted to become a school teacher and took teacher training courses. However, before my teaching practice, I realized I wasn't ready to stand at the front of a classroom. When those around me started job hunting, I did too, but influenced by my parents being business owners, I couldn't imagine myself continuing to work for a company. I figured I'd quit in a few years and start my own business anyway, so I approached job hunting with the desire to "learn how to run a business."
However, that attitude naturally didn't work, and as a result, I chose to start my own business rather than get a job. That said, I had neither money nor connections. So I chose internet marketing. With just the cost of a domain and server, I could get started, write my own articles, and gather information to give it a try. It felt less like entrepreneurship and more like "it was the only thing I could do."
I didn't decide on a field from the beginning. While looking at various products and comparing unit prices and conversion rates, I happened to arrive at the legal field, such as debt restructuring. At that time, there was room for ingenuity in the search engine system, and I was able to attract traffic by creating articles for each region. As a result of launching the media, sales started to increase, but at the same time, I felt that "this won't last long."
Therefore, I interviewed lawyers, judicial scriveners, and people who had actually sought advice, and transformed the articles into ones that would be truly helpful to those who were struggling. I wasn't just aiming for high search rankings, but transforming it into a media outlet that was meaningful to its readers. Eventually, the media outlet grew, but as Google's rules changed daily, expertise and authority became more important. I decided to sell it, believing that it would be better to hand it over to someone with more resources and the right skills rather than continuing to run it myself, as this would allow the media outlet to make better use of its value.

■Reclaiming value in dormant real estate

My interest in real estate began when I realized the risks of relying solely on internet-based businesses. A change in search engine rankings could lead to a significant drop in sales. So, I started buying real estate to build assets. While working on projects such as rental offices, short-term rentals, shared housing, and renovating detached houses, I came to feel that there was great potential in properties with issues or old, vacant houses.
Buying low, making necessary improvements, increasing its value, and passing it on to the next person – real estate offers the fascinating opportunity to resolve such imbalances. While discussing this potential with my co-representative, Naikoba, the idea of ​​developing it as a full-fledged business was born. From there, together with my colleagues, we launched AlbaLink.
AlbaLink's main business is buying and reselling vacant houses and properties with issues. There are many vacant houses in Japan, and many people want to get rid of them but can't. Old houses in rural areas, properties that are difficult to rebuild, and properties with leaky roofs can be difficult for typical real estate companies to handle. Because the commission fees are low and the risks are high, they are often turned down.
We purchase such properties and connect them with individual investors or those who want to utilize them. Because we buy them ourselves rather than acting as intermediaries, sellers can have peace of mind knowing that their properties will actually be bought. Then, the next buyer renovates the property and uses it for rental or short-term rentals, giving a new purpose to the dormant real estate.
Our goal is "zero vacant houses by 2100." Of course, completely eliminating vacant houses is not easy. What's important is how they are utilized after being purchased. In order to reduce vacant houses in a situation where the population and number of households are not increasing, we believe it is also necessary to increase the number of people moving between regions through means such as dual-residence living, tourism, and homestays.

■ Working together based on four new values

As a company grows, it becomes more difficult to ensure everyone is on the same page. This is because each person comes from a different background and holds different values. That's why, using our IPO as a milestone, we re-evaluated our values. These are the four core principles: "Be Agile: Prompt and flexible," "Focus on Impact: Focusing on the essentials," "Basics First: Fundamentals are essential to everything," and "With Respect: Always treating everyone equally and with integrity."
Based on these values, we want to work with people who are autonomous and can collaborate towards the same goals. We want to work with people who have their own will and take responsibility for their own lives, rather than depending on others. You don't need to be perfectly autonomous right out of college. However, it is very important to be able to think about "what you want to do" without running away from it. We want to be an organization where people who can stand on their own two feet, discipline themselves, and act for the benefit of others come together.

■Message to university students

Some people may feel anxious about entering the workforce. However, I find that life is more enjoyable after entering the workforce. Different problems arise every day at work, and the things you can do and the people you interact with change. That change is interesting, and I never get bored.
In the real world, there aren't clear right answers like in school. That's why it's important to think for yourself and make your own decisions. Try to confidently move in the direction you want to go. The right answer isn't something that's there from the beginning; it's something you create through your own actions. Society is a more interesting place than you might think. I hope you'll take on challenges with a positive attitude and enjoy the process.

Student Newspaper Online, June 14, 2026, Interview by Tsuda University 4rd year student, Karin Ishimatsu

Karin Ishimatsu (4th year student at Tsuda University) / Renho Maeda (graduate of Chuo University) / Arisa Ieda (2nd year student at Ochanomizu University) / Sakura Yamashita (4th year student at Tsuda University)