A warehouse full of old bicycles at storage warehouse owned by the Hamaya corporation, Japan's largest exporter of secondhand goods.
'Clean-out' businesses are booming in Japan, aligned to its population of the elderly and childless. 30 percent of the properties that are cleared by professionals involve a so-called 'lonely death'. While 'ghost houses', abandoned by ageing owners, account for a further 20 percent. The industry is also closely linked to the country's growing secondhand market which makes up more than 10 percent of all clothing sales.
