Can foreigners buy land in Japan? Laws and filings (2026)

The short answer: no nationality ban, a growing set of filings

Whether foreigners can own land in Japan has a plain first answer. A foreign national, resident or not, can hold ownership of land, and no statute in force that we read prohibits it by nationality. One old statute, the Alien Land Act, would allow restrictions by order, but the Cabinet told the Diet in 2013 that no order under it was in force. That is covered in its own section below.

The second answer is more detailed. Several other laws attach a procedure to particular land: land near defence and other important facilities, large purchases, forest, and farmland. The procedure differs in each case, and the person who files is usually the buyer or the new owner.

The trend matters as much as the rule. Farmland forms began to ask for nationality in September 2023. (The Japanese term used in these rules, 国籍等, covers nationality and also certain regions defined under the immigration law, such as Taiwan; "nationality" on this page is shorthand for that term.) The National Land Use Planning Act notice began to do so in July 2025. More items arrived in April 2026, and further changes are dated 2027. The property register is due to add a nationality statement on 5 October 2026, described in the guide to the property register.

The government is also studying a possible new legal framework. As of 29 September 2026 we could not find a published outline or a bill in the primary sources, so the section below on the government's 2026 plans describes only what has been written down.

Japan's land ownership laws at a glance

The table sets the procedures side by side. Each row covers a different land type and a different law, so more than one row may be relevant to the same parcel, although some laws exclude cases covered by another: for example, a farmland sale that needs a Farmland Act permit is excluded from the Important Land Act notice by Article 6(iii) of the Important Land Act's Enforcement Order. Which rows apply to a specific parcel is not decided here.

A separate foreign exchange report for non-residents also exists. It is described in the section on the foreign exchange law and in the guide to mortgages for foreigners.

The Alien Land Act exists; the government said in 2013 no order was in force

The Gaikokujin Tochi Ho (外国人土地法), the Alien Land Act, dates from 1925. e-Gov holds a single version, in force since 10 November 1926, with no amendments. The text is short and rests on two ideas.

• ■Reciprocity. Article 1 lets the government impose the same or a similar ban or restriction on foreign individuals and companies from a country that bans or restricts land rights for Japanese people or Japanese companies. Article 2 treats a company as belonging to that country when half or more of its members, shareholders or executives, half or more of its capital, or a majority of its voting rights belongs to such foreigners.
• ■Defence zones. Article 4 allows a ban or restriction on foreigners acquiring land rights in zones needed for national defence, with the zones also set by order.

Both powers depend on an order. The Act says Imperial Ordinance (勅令), and the government has spoken of a cabinet order (政令). In a written answer dated 2 July 2013, the Cabinet stated that no order based on the Act was currently in force. Whether orders existed under it in earlier periods is outside what this page examined. The answer also gave reasons the Act is hard to use: Article 1 presupposes reciprocity, Article 4 presupposes the Army and Navy under the former Constitution, and the power delegated to orders is broad and open-ended.

We did not find a primary source that shows directly that no order has been made since 2013. What can be said is that the government said so in 2013 and that we have not seen a later order. The January 2026 government measures, discussed below, do not mention using this Act. They refer to studying new legal rules.

Important Land Act: watch zones and the 200 square metre threshold

Two kinds of zone

The Juyo Tochi-to Chosa Ho (重要土地等調査法), the Important Land Act, has been fully in force since 20 September 2022. Article 5 allows a chushi kuiki (注視区域), a watch zone, around important facilities: Self-Defense Forces and US forces facilities, coast guard facilities, and "living-related" facilities, which the Enforcement Order names as nuclear facilities and airports under the Airport Act. The zone covers roughly 1,000 metres around the site. Remote border islands can also be designated. A designation takes effect when it is announced in the official gazette.

Article 12 allows a tokubetsu chushi kuiki (特別注視区域), a special watch zone, for areas around specially important facilities and on specified border islands. The difference matters because only the special watch zone carries a duty to notify. The Cabinet Office notification page states that land and buildings in an ordinary watch zone are not subject to the notice.

What Article 13 asks for

Article 13 says that when a contract, including a preliminary one, transfers or creates ownership, or a right whose object is to acquire ownership, over land or a building of 200 square metres or more in a special watch zone, the parties notify the Prime Minister in advance. For a building, the threshold is measured by floor area. The notice covers names and addresses, the location and size, the type and content of the right, the intended use after transfer, and matters set by Cabinet Office ordinance.

Article 13(1) and the Enforcement Order exclude some contracts from the notice: those where the party taking the right is the State, a local authority or a body the Order lists, such as an incorporated administrative agency or a national university corporation, and certain contracts the Order lists, including those tied to reclaimed public water surfaces, land expropriation and farmland needing a Farmland Act permit.

The ordinance names the intended acquirer's nationality, or for a company the country whose law it was set up under. Since 1 April 2026, for a company, the ordinance asks for more detail in three situations: where the representative is a non-Japanese individual, a foreign government, a foreign public body or a similar entity, or a representative of one of them, or a company formed under foreign law, that representative's nationality and name; where non-Japanese individuals or foreign-government representatives of one nationality make up a majority of the officers, that nationality; and where foreign persons, including foreign companies, of one nationality hold a majority of the voting rights, that nationality. Before that change, the notice recorded only that foreign control existed. The nationality item itself has been there since 2022.

For transfers by civil mediation, court settlement, family-court conciliation, or an auction in tax delinquency proceedings, compulsory execution or enforcement of a security interest, the notice is filed within two weeks of the contract date. From April 2026, an agent can file online, according to the Cabinet Office leaflet.

Investigation, recommendation and order

Articles 6 to 8 provide for surveys of land use, requests for information and reports. Under the Enforcement Order, the information that can be requested includes a foreign owner's nationality. Article 9 provides that where land is being used, or there is a clear risk that it will be used, to impair the functions of an important facility, the Prime Minister can issue a recommendation after hearing a council, and an order if the recommendation is not followed without good reason. Breaching an order carries imprisonment of up to two years, a fine of up to ¥2 million, or both (Article 25). Refusing to report can bring a fine of up to ¥300,000 (Article 27). Supplementary Provision 2 calls for a review five years after enforcement.

How many zones, and what the annual report counts

A Cabinet Secretariat document of 4 March 2026 gives 586 watch zones, of which 150 are special. A Cabinet Office notice dated 1 April 2026 followed. The current total should be read from the Cabinet Office zones page.

The Cabinet Office annual report for fiscal 2024 (December 2025) covers 583 zones. It counts 113,827 parcels and buildings acquired (69,677 land parcels and 44,150 buildings). Of these, 3,498 (3.1 percent) went to what the report calls foreign nationals or foreign-affiliated companies: 1,744 land parcels and 1,754 buildings. The prior year covered 399 zones and 16,862 items, of which 371 (2.2 percent) were foreign. The report says that zones and periods differ between years, so the two years cannot simply be compared. Its definitions include people and companies presumed to be foreign: foreign nationals living in Japan, people living abroad who appear to be foreign nationals, foreign companies, and Japanese companies whose representative is such a person.

The count uses ownership-transfer registrations after a sale or similar contract, and registrations of new buildings. Inheritance and similar transfers are excluded. Among those foreign-affiliated acquisitions, the largest shares by country and region are China including Hong Kong at 1,674 (47.5 percent), Taiwan at 414 (11.7 percent) and South Korea at 378 (10.7 percent). The report also says that 79.6 percent of those acquisitions were by persons located in Japan and 20.4 percent by persons located abroad. It records no recommendation or order under Article 9 for that year.

National Land Use Planning Act: the two-week notice

The Kokudo Riyo Keikaku Ho (国土利用計画法), the National Land Use Planning Act, is the general notice for sizeable transactions. Whether it applies does not depend on nationality, and it applies to Japanese buyers too.

Article 23 provides that a person who acquires land rights under a contract for consideration (defined in Article 14, and including preliminary contracts) notifies the prefectural governor through the municipality. The period is two weeks counted from the day the contract was signed. The notice states the parties, the contract date, the location and size, the type and content of the right, the intended use and the price. Because it is filed after the contract, it is a notice, not a permit.

No notice is needed below three size thresholds: 2,000 square metres in an urbanisation promotion area, 5,000 in other city planning areas, and 10,000 outside city planning areas. The exemption does not apply where the land is acquired as part of a larger connected tract. Land in the Act's own regulated areas, watch areas and monitoring areas is outside Article 23 and goes through a separate advance procedure instead (Article 23(2)(ii)); that procedure is not covered here. The Act's watch area (注視区域, Article 27-3) shares its Japanese name with the Important Land Act's watch zone but is a different designation. Failure to notify, or a false notice, carries imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to ¥1 million under Article 47.

The nationality item is new. Article 19-3 of the Enforcement Regulations now includes the acquirer's nationality, with a statement that the person is a permanent resident or special permanent resident where that applies. For a company, it includes the country whose law it was formed under. We compared the versions of 30 June and 1 July 2025 and found the first without any reference to nationality. Since 1 April 2026, a company's notice also states the nationality of the representative, and, where a majority of the officers or of the voting rights share a nationality, that nationality.

Forest Act: 90 days and no size threshold

Article 10-7-2 of the Shinrin Ho (森林法), the Forest Act, applies to private forest covered by a regional forest plan. A person who newly becomes the owner of forest land notifies the mayor. The text says newly becoming an owner, so it is not limited to purchases. There is no area requirement. It does not apply where the person has already filed the National Land Use Planning Act notice.

Under Article 7 of the Enforcement Regulations, notice is due within 90 days of the day the person became owner, and it is accompanied by a map showing the location and a certified copy of the register entry or another document proving the cause of the notification. Failure to notify or a false notice brings an administrative fine of up to ¥100,000 under Article 213. That is a non-criminal administrative fine, called a karyo (過料), not a criminal penalty.

A separate step is the forest land register, kept by the municipality under Article 191-4. Reiwa 8 Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ordinance No. 8, promulgated on 20 February 2026 and effective 1 April 2027, adds the owner's nationality to it, and for a company the nationality of the representative and, where people of the same nationality make up a majority of the officers or hold a majority of the voting rights, that nationality. The same ordinance places these items among those not published, the way an owner's name and address are not published.

Government materials say nationality checks for forest land began in April 2026. We did not verify that the notice form itself carries a nationality box from that date, since the form is set by public notice and we did not read it.

Farmland Act: a permit, not a notice

Under Article 3 of the Nochi Ho (農地法), the Farmland Act, transferring ownership of farmland or grazing land, or creating or transferring a lease or similar right in it, generally needs a permit from the nogyo iinkai (農業委員会), the agricultural committee. Exceptions exist. The permit process has its own conditions that this page does not describe.

What has changed is the application form. Article 11, item 6 of the Enforcement Regulations asks for the nationality of the person acquiring ownership, and for a mid- to long-term resident or special permanent resident, the residence status or a statement that the person is a special permanent resident. This first appeared on 1 September 2023. From 1 April 2025, a mid- to long-term resident also states the period of stay and its expiry date. For companies, the application lists nationality details for directors and certain employees defined in the regulations, and for major shareholders or investors holding 5 percent or more.

The Enforcement Regulations also ask for nationality in two other places: Article 19, for the after-the-event notice under Article 3-3 of the Act, and Article 101, for the farmland register kept under Article 52-2 of the Act. This page does not go further. The guide to an akiya, a vacant house, has a farmland section.

Property registration from 5 October 2026

The Real Estate Registration Rules were amended by Reiwa 8 Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 23, promulgated on 31 March 2026 and taking effect on 5 October 2026. Article 158-38 adds nationality to the items the Minister of Justice records in a search-information file kept for individual registered owners. Article 158-39, which covers what is stated when ownership is registered, now includes nationality and drops the earlier limit to cases where the person to be registered as owner has a domestic address, which brings buyers living abroad within scope.

The ordinance says the applicant is to state their nationality, using wording that translates roughly as "is to declare" (申し出るものとする). We found no penalty clause in the ordinance itself. For how the change works in practice, see the guide to the property register.

Non-residents and the foreign exchange law

The Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, or FEFTA, sets separate reporting rules for non-residents who acquire real estate. This page does not cover it. The guide to mortgages for foreigners in Japan has that material. For land held under a lease rather than owned outright, the guide to leasehold land covers the separate structure.

What the government is considering in 2026

On 23 January 2026 a ministerial council on foreign nationals issued the Comprehensive Measures for the Acceptance of Foreign Nationals and Orderly Coexistence. This is a decision of the ministerial council, not a Cabinet decision. Measure 240 covers new legal rules on land acquisition by foreign nationals. It names three points for study.

• ■Who would be covered: everyone including Japanese nationals, or foreign nationals only.
• ■What the rules would contain: a permit system, a system of prior notice with examination, on-site inspection, and similar.
• ■Which land would be covered.

The measure says an outline is to be compiled "by summer of Reiwa 8", meaning summer 2026. It also notes that the Important Land Act contains no rule for controlling acquisitions in advance. Measure 231 says condominiums will be reviewed again after the facts become clear.

The Cabinet Secretariat study group has met four times: 4 March, 9 April, 30 April and 21 July 2026. On 29 September 2026 its page held no summary document dated after 21 July, and we did not find a Cabinet decision or a bill submitted to the Diet in primary sources. News reports were not used. This page does not predict what will follow.

A Cabinet Secretariat survey posted on 15 September 2026 estimates that, of about 230 million registered land parcels, 127,000 (0.06 percent) are owned by people living abroad. It gives a wider range for parcels whose owners are inferred to be foreign nationals or foreign companies: 271,000 to 1,069,000, or 0.12 to 0.46 percent. These are the Secretariat's estimates, and we have not audited its method.

What this page does not decide

This article does not say whether a specific parcel lies in a watch zone or a special watch zone, whether any filing is needed for a specific transaction, or which of the rows above apply to it. It does not explain how to complete a notice or an application, and it is not a checklist or a filing service. It names no agents or properties, and it takes no position for or against any policy under discussion.

It also does not cover taxes, financing, the permit criteria of the Farmland Act, ordinances of prefectures and municipalities, or how a registry office or agricultural committee applies its rules in a given case. The Japanese originals govern over the English descriptions here.

What we could not confirm

• ■No primary source shows directly that no Alien Land Act order has been made since 2013. Only the 2013 answer and our lack of a later finding support the statement.
• ■The current total of watch zones. The figures we hold are 586 (150 special) as of March 2026, with a further Cabinet Office notice on 1 April 2026 that we did not total.
• ■Whether the forest notice form carries a nationality box from April 2026. Government materials say nationality checking started then, but the form was not read.
• ■The January 2026 measures list, as measure 221, a change to foreign exchange reporting planned for April 2026. We did not read the amending text and say nothing about its content.
• ■Any outline document from the government after 21 July 2026, and any Cabinet decision or bill on land acquisition by foreign nationals.
• ■Any penalty for not stating nationality in a registration application. None appears in the ordinance we read, which is not the same as confirming that none exists elsewhere.
• ■How the Cabinet Secretariat inferred which owners are foreign nationals in its survey.

Sources

Statutory text was retrieved from e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29. Government materials were read on the same date. The English descriptions are reference translations; the Japanese originals govern.

• Alien Land Act (外国人土地法, Taisho 14 Act No. 42) — Arts. 1, 2 and 4

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, law ID 214AC0000000042. e-Gov lists one version only, in force from 10 November 1926, with no amendment history. The page relies on Articles 1 and 2 (reciprocity and the test for treating a company as foreign) and Article 4 (zones needed for national defence).

• Cabinet written answer No. 115 of the 183rd Diet session (2 July 2013)

  Read on 29 September 2026. States that no order based on the Alien Land Act was in force at that time, and gives reasons why the Act is hard to use: Article 1 presupposes reciprocity, Article 4 presupposes the Army and Navy under the former Constitution, and the power delegated to orders is broad and open-ended.

• Act on the Review and Regulation of the Use of Real Estate Around Important Facilities and on Remote Border Islands (重要土地等調査法, Reiwa 3 Act No. 84) — Arts. 5, 6–9, 12, 13, 25–27 and Supplementary Provision 2

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, revision 503AC0000000084_20250601_504AC0000000068. No amendment in 2026. Fully in force from 20 September 2022. The Enforcement Order (Art. 1 on living-related facilities, Art. 2 on information requests, Art. 4 on the 200 square metre threshold, Art. 7 on the notice filed within two weeks afterwards) was read alongside the Act.

• Enforcement Order of the Important Land Act (重要土地等調査法施行令, Reiwa 4 Cabinet Order No. 308) — Arts. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, revision 504CO0000000308_20220920_000000000000000 (no amendment since it took effect). Article 1 names nuclear facilities and airports as living-related facilities, Article 2 lists the information that may be requested, Article 4 sets the 200 square metre threshold, Article 5 lists bodies such as incorporated administrative agencies and national university corporations whose acquisitions need no notice, Article 6 excludes certain contracts, including those tied to reclaimed public water surfaces (item i), land expropriation (item ii) and farmland transfers that need a Farmland Act permit (item iii), and Article 7 lists the causes for which the notice is filed afterwards.

• Cabinet Office Ordinance for the Important Land Act (重要土地等調査法施行規則) — Art. 5

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, law ID 504M60000002056, current revision 504M60000002056_20260401_508M60000002002. Reiwa 8 Cabinet Office Ordinance No. 2, in force 1 April 2026, widened the corporate items in the notice: the nationality and name of a representative who is a foreign person, and the shared nationality where foreign persons of one nationality make up a majority of the officers or hold a majority of the voting rights.

• National Land Use Planning Act (国土利用計画法, Showa 49 Act No. 92) — Arts. 14, 23 and 47

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, revision 349AC1000000092_20250601_504AC0000000068.

• Enforcement Regulations of the National Land Use Planning Act (国土利用計画法施行規則) — Art. 19-3

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, law ID 349M50000002072, revision 349M50000002072_20260401_508M60000800005. We compared the versions of 30 June 2025 and 1 July 2025: the first has no reference to nationality, and Reiwa 7 Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) Ordinance No. 42 added the acquirer's nationality from 1 July 2025. Reiwa 8 MLIT Ordinance No. 5 added the corporate items from 1 April 2026.

• Forest Act (森林法, Showa 26 Act No. 249) — Arts. 10-7-2, 191-4 and 213

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, revision 326AC1000000249_20260401_507AC0000000048.

• Enforcement Regulations of the Forest Act (森林法施行規則) — Arts. 7, 104-2 and 104-4

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, law ID 326M50010000054, including the version that takes effect on 1 April 2027. Reiwa 8 Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ordinance No. 8 was promulgated on 20 February 2026. It adds nationality items to the forest land register rules from 1 April 2027 and, in Article 104-4, places them among the items not made public.

• Farmland Act (農地法, Showa 27 Act No. 229) — Art. 3

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, law ID 327AC0000000229.

• Enforcement Regulations of the Farmland Act (農地法施行規則) — Arts. 11, 19 and 101

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, law ID 327M50010000079, current revision 327M50010000079_20260527_508M60000200041. We compared the versions of 31 August 2023 (no reference to nationality) and 1 September 2023 (nationality appears), and the versions of 31 March 2025 and 1 April 2025 (residence period and expiry date appear for mid- to long-term residents).

• Real Estate Registration Rules (不動産登記規則) — Arts. 158-38 and 158-39, as amended by Reiwa 8 Ministry of Justice Ordinance No. 23

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, law ID 417M60000010018, amended revision 417M60000010018_20261005_508M60000010023. Promulgated 31 March 2026, in force 5 October 2026 and therefore not yet in force on the date checked. We found no penalty provision in the ordinance itself.

• Enforcement Order of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (出入国管理及び難民認定法施行令) — Art. 1

  Read through e-Gov API version 2 with asof=2026-09-29, revision 410CO0000000178_20260701_508CO0000000177. It names Taiwan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as the regions referred to in Article 2(v)(b) of the Act, which the term 国籍等 used in the land rules above takes in alongside nationality.

• Cabinet Office — Important Land Act zones page

  Read on 29 September 2026. This is the page where the Cabinet Office publishes the designated zones.

• Cabinet Office — Important Land Act leaflet (updated 14 September 2026)

  Read on 29 September 2026. It states that agents can file the notice online from April 2026.

• Cabinet Office — Important Land Act notification page

  Read on 29 September 2026. It states that land and buildings in an ordinary watch zone are not subject to the notice.

• Cabinet Office — Important Land Act annual report for fiscal 2024 (December 2025)

  Read on 29 September 2026. Figures were extracted from the PDF by us and checked against the text. The report itself says the covered zones and periods differ between years, so year-to-year comparison is not straightforward.

• Cabinet Secretariat — Comprehensive Measures for the Acceptance of Foreign Nationals and Orderly Coexistence (23 January 2026)

  Read on 29 September 2026. A decision of the ministerial council on the matter, not a Cabinet decision. Measure 240 on new rules for land acquisition by foreign nationals; measure 231 on condominiums.

• Cabinet Secretariat — Study Group on Rules for Land Acquisition by Foreign Nationals

  Read on 29 September 2026. Four meetings are listed: 4 March, 9 April, 30 April and 21 July 2026. The material of the first meeting (item 3, page 14) gives the zone counts used above. No summary document after 21 July was on the page on the date checked.

• Cabinet Secretariat — survey on ownership of land and buildings by foreign nationals (posted 15 September 2026)

  Read on 29 September 2026. The figures quoted are the Cabinet Secretariat's estimates, as we extracted them from the PDF.

Thank you for reading through a topic that is more a set of separate rules than a single answer. We hope the side-by-side view saves some searching, and we will revise the page when the primary sources change.