Japan to Require Nationality in Property Registrations

Tokyo, Dec. 2 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to include nationality in the planned property registration database to track foreign ownership, digital transformation minister Hisashi Matsumoto said Tuesday. Currently, buyers are not required to report their nationality when registering properties, such as condominiums. The Digital Agency aims to implement the planned database in fiscal 2027 or later. “We need to develop a database that allows us to centrally monitor foreign property ownership,” Matsumoto said at a press conference. In response to concerns that speculative purchases by foreign citizens have driven up condominium prices, the government is reviewing land acquisition rules for foreigners. Last month, the land ministry’s first-ever survey of new condominium acquisitions showed that 3.0 pct of people who purchased new condominiums in Tokyo between January and June this year were overseas residents. The survey used property registration data from the Justice Ministry, which does not include nationality information. Overseas residents do not include foreign residents in Japan or Japanese branches of foreign companies. “It is difficult to determine from this survey alone whether the proportion of foreign buyers is small or large,” land minister Yasushi Kaneko said when the survey results were released. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]