Yea, this is pretty much what they do in Japan, hence the article.

They don't do that though. What they do is move to a plot of land on which they build a new house. If there's already a house on the plot they bought, it gets torn down (entirely) rather than getting reused/renovated.

When people don't move, their house doesn't get torn down.

I get what the distinction is, but effectively it feels like the same thing to me.