Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is considering a survey on condominium transactions by foreign nationals living in Japan. The goal is to determine whether foreign nationals are engaging in speculative condo buying. This new survey could take place as soon as FY2027, and would expand beyond a previous MLIT survey that analyzed buyers with overseas addresses.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been calling for increased regulation of foreign nationals buying property in Japan, with the Takaichi administration promoting a policy of “orderly coexistence with foreigners.”
While some worry this survey may lead to discriminatory discussions, the government maintains that it is focused on fact-finding and does not yet involve any form of restriction or ban. Speculative transactions are undesirable regardless of nationality, the government has said.
At the same time, the survey will be aimed at finding evidence of condo speculation, including short-term buying and selling. Trends may be broken down by nationality, purchase area, or certain patterns of transactions. It is currently undecided whether Japanese buyers will also be included in the survey.
MLIT’s previous survey found that among buyers of newly built condominiums in Tokyo during the first half of last year, 3% had overseas addresses. MLIT did not find a clear trend of overseas address-holders engaging in short-term resale of high-priced properties, nor could an impact from them on price hikes be identified.
The new survey could provide more detailed data on whether foreign residents in Japan are buying for long-term use, investment, or short-term resale. This data may, in turn, influence future policy, whether positively or negatively.
While there is still the possibility that foreigners buying property in Japan may face greater scrutiny in the future, we aren’t quite there yet. The government is still in the fact-finding stage, but when this data comes out, it will be something important to monitor. For now, though, it seems we are still a ways off from major action. With that in mind, if you are in need of real estate advice, the Dovetail team is here for you.