The Nagoya District Court this week approved an ordinance enabling authorities to forcibly dispose of items piling up inside and outside a gomiyashiki in Naka Ward after the owner refused to do so.

Gomiyashiki (literally "garbage houses") belong to people who engage in compulsive hoarding. They can be easily recognized by the disorderly overflow of various items, ranging from rusting scrap metal objects to automobile tires, etc, that fill the balcony, entranceway and in some cases spill out onto the sidewalk and street.

The three-story house in Naka Ward is one of Japan’s most well-known gomiyashiki. After the court ruling on Monday, workers began removing items on Tuesday against the wishes of the 62-year-old resident of the house, Hideyuki Aizawa, Fuji TV reported. Aizawa’s mother owns the property and has been renting it to her son since 2000.

The floor space in the house is approximately 180 square meters. Bags filled with empty cans alongside piles of cardboard boxes, furniture and other items had overflowed onto the sidewalk. Authorities estimate it will take at least three days to haul the items away. Aizawa has also been ordered to vacate the house by July 18.

Aizawa has had a stormy relationship with his neighbors who have filed numerous complaints about his hoarding over the past 10 years. After Aizawa repeatedly refused to clean up the house, he was sued by neighbors in November 2017 and the court ruled in their favor in January.

The ordinance came after Aizawa refused to comply with the court’s ruling. But on Tuesday, he told reporters “While I don’t agree with the court’s decision, it can’t be helped,” and he was even seen helping the waste collectors remove some of his belongings.

© Japan Today