Tokyo, Oct. 23 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government Friday approved a bill to introduce a prior approval system for the purchases of land around facilities deemed important to national security, such as Self-Defense Forces bases. Currently, those planning to buy such land are required to notify the government in advance. By starting the system, the government aims to prevent information on important facilities from being stolen and their functions from being disrupted, as new types of threats emerge, including drone attacks. According to the bill to revise the law regulating land use around important facilities, the government would select some of the special monitored areas deemed critical to national security under the law and designate them as regulated areas where prior state approval is required for land transactions. The designation would be given to special monitored areas within 1,000 meters of an SDF facility or a Japan Coast Guard facility considered vulnerable to drone attacks because they accommodate fighter aircraft or has a radar system, as well as to remote border islands. The bill also envisions the establishment of a system allowing government personnel to conduct on-site inspections in regulated areas. In order to ensure consistency with relevant international treaties, the government would apply the new rules to land buyers of all nationalities. Foreign governments, people affiliated with foreign military forces and those contractually obligated to work for foreign governments would not be allowed to acquire land in the regulated areas in principle. If no prior approval is obtained for transactions of such land, registration of land ownership would be denied and ownership transfer would be invalidated. Those violating the revised law would be subject to a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to 3 million yen. There would be no requirement linked to the size of land for obtaining permission for land deals in the regulated areas, given that even small plots can accumulate drones and serve as their operating bases. The government would be allowed to order owners of such land to transfer their ownership within a year or petition for an auction of the land if the land loses its eligibility due to events after the acquisition, such as a merger or division of land and a change in the proportion of foreign ownership. The revision would expand the definition of important facilities, which serves as a basis for issuing recommendations and orders to take corrective measures regarding land use. Facilities that would join the new list include the Imperial Palace, the Diet building, the prime minister’s office and government buildings used in crisis management operations. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
