Cost of Moving House in Japan’s Peak Season Soars on Labor Shortages, Rising Prices

By Shodai Niki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:15 JST, March 18, 2026

The season where students enter university and workers prepare for job transfers is approaching, and the issue of “relocation refugees,” those who are unable to relocate as they wish, is growing.

Moving companies are trying to expand their capacity to accept custom by diversifying their methods of transport, but there are limits to what they can do.

Relocation costs are generally higher during February and March due to the concentration of demand. However, the rising prices of goods and services, as well as labor costs, are causing them to further inflate, underlining the necessity of finding ways to spread out the moving season.

Concerns over rising oil prices

Labor shortages in the logistics industry are seen to be behind the rise in “relocation refugees,” with their number increasing noticeably since overtime regulations for truck drivers became stricter in 2024.

In a survey of moving companies conducted by Ateam LifeDesign Inc., which runs a price comparison website for those firms, one in three companies had said they would close the bookings for their moving services for March by the end of February.

Since job transfers and university acceptances are in many cases finalized in March, those number of people facing difficulties related to relocation are increasing.

According to the company, the moving costs for families in February and March 2025 was ¥194,000 on average, up nearly ¥50,000 from the same months in 2022. The moving rates for single-person households also rose by ¥30,000 to ¥112,000.

Further price increases were expected in the same months of 2026, with estimates of ¥204,000 for families and ¥118,000 for single-person households. If the high oil prices continue due to the escalating situation in the Middle East, the cost of relocation could rise fast.

Need for diversification

Sakai Moving Service Co. and Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu) conducted a trial run of a moving plan that utilizes Kyushu Shinkansen bullet trains.

When transporting household goods between Fukuoka and Kagoshima prefectures solely by truck, delivery can only be made as early as the following day. Utilizing Shinkansen trains would allow for same-day delivery.

Furthermore, Sakai and Heart Hikkoshi Center Co. will conduct a demonstrative experiment from April to November of transporting household goods using trucks with Level 2 autonomous driving systems, which allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel while traveling on expressways. The experiment aims to confirm whether this reduces the burden on truck drivers.

However, such initiatives have just begun. Therefore, it remains unclear how they will lead to an increase in the capacity to accept bookings for a short period, meaning it still necessary to spread out the moving season.

According to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, the booking status for the period from March 28 to April 4 is “extremely congested.”

While the ministry is calling for people to consider relocating from the second week of April or later, corporate workers and others whose moving dates are already set will not be able to easily do this.

“Due to population decline and working hour regulations [for truck drivers], labor shortages are likely to continue for the time being,” said Prof. Yuji Yano of Ryutsu Keizai University, a scholar on logistics. “We should consider having household items, except for essential goods, be transported during the off-peak season, and designing systems in which companies that alter the job transfer schedule for their employees can receive benefits.”