Japan has launched a study into how foreign governments regulate the sale of land and property to non-citizens, with analysts suggesting that lax existing laws make it too easy for “bad actors” to obtain footholds that are detrimental to the domestic economy and national security.
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The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported on Monday that the Japanese government was studying how Canada, Germany, South Korea and Taiwan regulate property purchases or rentals by foreign nationals, with their laws potentially serving as models for revising Japan’s own rules on the acquisition of agricultural, commercial and industrial properties as well as housing.
Although the Important Land Survey Act – which allows the government to monitor land transactions near military and other sensitive sites – took effect in 2022, experts say surging demand from foreign investors shows the law already needs tightening.
“There are very few restrictions on buying land or properties in Japan, so there is concern among some about foreign nationals purchasing land near military bases, for example,” Hiroo Ichikawa, a professor emeritus of urban planning and policy at Meiji University, told This Week in Asia.
According to Ichikawa, there is also concern about foreign nationals or corporations buying forests that are catchment areas for urban water supplies or agricultural land.
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He cited a survey by Japan’s Forestry Agency that showed non-Japanese bought 175.3 hectares (433.2 acres) of farmland in 2024, up from 90.6 hectares the previous year.