Buying property in Japan as a foreigner (2026)

Who can buy: everyone — with new paperwork

Japan is one of the most open property markets on earth. Any foreigner — any nationality, any visa status, resident or not — can buy land and buildings freehold (所有権), with identical rights to Japanese nationals. No reciprocity test, no permit, no local partner (Housing Japan).

What has changed is visibility, and 2026 is the year it tightened:

• The FEFTA report — the big 2026 change. Non-residents buying Japanese real property must file an acquisition report with the Ministry of Finance (via the Bank of Japan) within 20 days of acquisition. Until March 2026, buying for your own residence was exempt; from April 1, 2026 the exemptions were abolished — essentially every non-resident purchase is now reportable, with nationality and purpose on the form. A Japan-resident agent can file for you; non-filing carries penalties, so make sure someone owns this task at closing.
• Security-zone rules (重要土地等調査法, in force since 2022) apply to everyone near designated defense sites, nuclear facilities and border islands — in "special monitored zones," deals of 200 m²+ require pre-closing notification. Nearly 600 zones are designated; your agent's mandatory disclosure now covers this, and the Cabinet Office publishes a zone map. For a typical countryside akiya: irrelevant. Next to a base: check first.
• Restrictions are discussed, not enacted. A government expert panel convened in March 2026 to study rules on foreign land acquisition, with a framework expected from summer 2026 onward. As of this guide's verification date, nothing restricts a foreign purchase — expect more paperwork before you ever see prohibition, and watch the 2026–27 legislative sessions.

Visas: what a purchase gets you (nothing)

Buying property in Japan grants no visa, no points, no path to residency. Most foreign akiya owners simply remain non-resident owners who visit on 90-day visa-free stays.

If you want to actually live in Japan, you need a real route: work visas, a spouse visa, study, the Highly Skilled Professional track, or the 6-month digital nomad visa (¥10M income requirement). One warning for the "I'll start a company and manage my rentals" plan: the Business Manager visa was drastically tightened in October 2025 — minimum capital jumped from ¥5M to ¥30M, plus a full-time employee, Japanese-language ability in the business, and a vetted business plan (KPMG). The old buy-a-few-akiya-on-a-small-company path is effectively dead.

The process, step by step

1. Find it, view it (or have it viewed)Portals, akiya banks, auctions — see listings. Municipal akiya banks often require registration first, and some interview buyers or restrict to people who'll relocate.
2. 買付証明書 — the offer letterA non-binding written offer with your price and conditions. Negotiation happens here; on long-vacant houses, offers well under asking are normal.
3. 重要事項説明 — the Explanation of Important MattersThe legally required pre-contract disclosure, delivered by a licensed 宅地建物取引士. Since March 2021 this can be done remotely by video call for sales — it's how overseas buyers close without flying in. It's usually in Japanese; budget for an interpreter or bilingual agent.
4. 売買契約 — the contract, with earnest money手付金 of 5–10% customarily (capped at 20% from licensed dealers). Walk away and you lose it; if the seller walks, they return it doubled. Stamp duty is due on the contract.
5. Settlement and same-day registrationBalance wired, keys handed over, and a 司法書士 (judicial scrivener) files the ownership transfer that day. Fixed asset tax is prorated at closing. Then the post-closing filings: the MOF report within 20 days, and the acquisition-tax paperwork to the prefecture.

Documents, for non-residents: Japan's system expects a registered seal and residence certificate — you substitute a notarized, apostilled affidavit + passport. Since April 2024, foreign owners' names are registered in katakana plus roman letters, and — the rule that surprises people — owners with no Japanese address must register a 国内連絡先 (domestic contact): a consenting person or company in Japan (your agent, property manager or scrivener commonly serves). Fully remote purchase via power of attorney is routine (details).

Timeline: ~4–8 weeks offer-to-keys for a cash deal through a brokerage; akiya-bank and inherited-house deals often run 2–4+ months while paperwork (and sometimes a chain of heirs) gets sorted.

The people you'll need

What it really costs

Japanese purchase taxes are calculated on the assessed (課税標準) value — usually well below price — but on cheap houses the fixed fees dominate, which is how a ¥2M akiya ends up costing 15% in fees.

Owning, renting, selling

• Annual holding: fixed asset tax 1.4% + city planning tax 0.3% of assessed value (with big reductions on small residential land). Real-world all-in for a modest akiya — taxes, utilities kept alive, insurance, minimal maintenance — is commonly ~¥200k+/year. A "free" house is a standing subscription.
• Renting it out as a non-resident: tenants/managers withhold 20.42% of rent (with narrow exceptions); you file an annual return through your 納税管理人 to settle up (NTA).
• Selling as a non-resident: the buyer must withhold 10.21% of the gross price (exempt only when an individual buys ≤¥100M for their own residence) — it's reconciled at filing, but it dents your resale liquidity (NTA).

Financing: bring cash

The blunt version: Japanese banks do not lend to non-residents. Mortgages require Japanese residency — usually permanent residency or a Japanese spouse, plus Japan-sourced income — and even resident foreigners without PR have limited options. Old rural wooden houses also fail banks' collateral tests regardless of who's buying.

In practice: akiya buyers pay cash (prices of ¥0.5M–5M make that feasible), or borrow at home against home-country assets. A handful of international lenders serve larger Tokyo/Osaka investment purchases. Nothing finances 再建築不可 (non-rebuildable) or auction properties.

Akiya, honestly

The 2023 national housing survey counted ~9 million vacant homes — 13.8% of Japan's housing stock, a record. Roughly 3.9 million are the truly abandoned kind: not for sale, not for rent, just sitting. That's the pool the akiya dream draws from, and the prices are real — but so are the reasons for them.

Why they're so cheap

• Demographics and inheritance: heirs in Tokyo inherit grandma's countryside house, don't want it, and increasingly must deal with it — inheritance registration became mandatory in April 2024, pushing more stock onto the market.
• The 1981 line: homes permitted before June 1, 1981 predate the modern earthquake code (新耐震). That single date drives financing, insurance and resale value. Check it on every listing (築年数); retrofits run ¥1–3M.
• Renovation exceeds value: when fixing a house costs more than the house, its market price falls toward zero — or below (demolition costs ¥1–2M+).

Where they're listed

Municipal akiya banks (空き家バンク) — town-run listing boards, aggregated nationally by two portals: LIFULL HOME'S 空き家バンク and at home 空き家バンク. They're Japanese-only, some require an interview or relocation intent, and the good stock moves through word of mouth first. Many municipalities sweeten deals with renovation/demolition subsidies covering 10–80% of eligible costs (caps commonly ¥0.5–2M), usually conditioned on residency or akiya-bank registration.

The fine print that catches buyers

• Farmland attached (農地法): old farmhouses often come with fields, and farmland transfer needs agricultural committee approval — a real process involving a farming plan. The minimum-area rule was abolished in 2023, so hobby-scale farming can qualify, but approval is still required and unpermitted transfers are void. (Korea-watchers: it's the cousin of the 농취증 system.)
• 再建築不可 — non-rebuildable lots: no 2m frontage on a legal 4m road means you can repair but never rebuild. Near-zero collateral value. The flag appears in listings; take it seriously.
• 市街化調整区域 (urbanization control areas): many dirt-cheap rural listings sit here — development permission is restricted and outsiders often can't get permits.
• Infrastructure: septic (汲み取り or aging 浄化槽 — ~¥1M+ to replace), well water, narrow access roads, snow-country roof duties.
• The tax stick: houses designated as neglected (特定空家, or the newer 管理不全空家 category) lose the residential-land tax break — land tax can jump ~6x. Absentee neglect is now policy-visible.
• Renovation reality: light habitability ¥0.5–1.5M; comfortable ¥2–5M; structural/full ¥5–20M, kominka restorations at the top. "Move-in ready" claims still deserve a ¥1–2M contingency — and an inspection (¥50k–140k) for termites and roof leaks, the two standard killers.

Where to find listings (and how to read them)

• SUUMO, athome, LIFULL HOME'S — the big general portals.
• The two national akiya-bank aggregators (above) for municipal stock.
• BIT — the courts' auction site: cheap, as-is, no viewings, no brokerage protections. Experts-only territory.
• 投資 portals (楽待, 健美家) for income property.

How to read a Japanese listing: layouts come as codes — 2LDK = two rooms + Living/Dining/Kitchen. 築年数 is building age (check against 1981). Land tenure matters enormously: 所有権 = freehold; 借地権 = leasehold — you'd own the building, pay ground rent, and need the landowner's consent to rebuild or sell. 建ぺい率/容積率 are build-coverage and floor-area ratios. Red-flag vocabulary: 再建築不可 (non-rebuildable), 市街化調整区域 (control area), 現況渡し (as-is), 告知事項あり (something to disclose — often a death in the property). Exact addresses are withheld until inquiry, so expect "town + area" precision at the browsing stage.

Akiya hunting is tab chaos by design — three portals, two akiya banks, a municipal PDF. House Hunt Diary is where the candidates land: one shortlist, every house, your notes attached to the right one.

Airbnb & short-term rental rules

Foreigners can operate short-term rentals in Japan. No nationality restriction exists. Three legal paths are available:

• Minpaku notification (住宅宿泊事業法): national 180-day annual cap. Individual wards may impose stricter limits (Shibuya: ~60–80 days). The lowest-barrier path.
• Simple lodging license (簡易宿所営業): 365 days, but requires fire/building code compliance, front-desk equivalent, and local health centre approval.
• Tokku special zone (特区民泊): 365 days in designated areas (Ota-ku, parts of Osaka). Currently suspended in some zones.

Non-residents must appoint a domestic representative and hire a licensed management company. Tax: 20.42% flat withholding for non-residents. Roughly 80% of condo HOAs (管理組合) ban minpaku outright — check the management rules (管理規約) before buying.

Penalties for unlicensed operation: up to ¥1,000,000. Enforcement is active and tightening.

Traps the locals know

• Unregistered buildings (未登記) and half-finished inheritance chains — common with old homes; the seller may need months to clear title before you can buy.
• Boundaries (筆界未確定): many rural parcels have never been surveyed; a proper survey runs ¥350k–800k. Budget it or accept the ambiguity knowingly.
• Private roads (私道): shared ownership, maintenance levies, and consents needed to dig for utilities.
• Community obligations: 自治会 dues, mowing duties, festival roles. Absentee owners who ghost these burn goodwill their future selves will need.
• Snow country: roof-clearing is a legal/practical obligation; outsourcing costs ¥100k+/season in heavy-snow towns.
• Demolition math: ¥0.9–1.5M for a typical 100 m² wooden house, more with storehouses, asbestos or tight access — and demolishing raises the land's tax by removing the residential exemption.
• The 20-day MOF report (again, because it's new and easy to miss): from April 2026 it covers essentially every non-resident purchase. Assign it to your scrivener or agent in writing.

Keep hunting