Status the text uses

Foreign national (Civil Code Art. 3(2)). Non-resident under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, for acquisition reporting. Non-resident, for brokerage consumption tax. Non-resident or foreign corporation, for withholding on a sale. Natural-person new ownership registrant, for nationality search information.

What the text supports

Ordinary residential ownership is not closed by nationality. Civil Code Article 3(2) provides that foreign nationals enjoy private rights unless laws, regulations or treaties prohibit them. A February 2026 House of Representatives research report states that, apart from farmland, property sales in Japan are regarded in practice as unrestricted for foreign and Japanese buyers alike, and that no ordinance has been made under the Alien Land Law since 1945. Farmland transfers need official permission. Under the Important Land Survey Act, both parties to a contract transferring land or a building of 200 square metres or more in a special monitored area, designated within about 1,000 metres of certain key facilities or on certain border islands, must notify the Prime Minister before signing. Other sectoral rules are not covered here. From 1 April 2026, a non-resident under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act who acquires land or a building in Japan, for any purpose including their own home and whatever the price or size, must report the acquisition to the Minister of Finance through the Bank of Japan within 20 days. From 1 October 2026, brokerage and agency fees for the sale, exchange or lease of real estate in Japan are subject to consumption tax when the client is a non-resident, ending the earlier export exemption. Contracts concluded by 31 March 2026 keep the old treatment. This change taxes the agent's fee, not the property price. When a non-resident or a foreign corporation sells land or a building in Japan, the buyer must generally withhold 10.21 percent of the price as income tax, unless the buyer is an individual buying it as a home for themselves or a relative for 100 million yen or less (conditions apply). From 5 October 2026, a natural person who becomes a new registered owner must give their nationality, or an Immigration Control Act region, as search information under the amended Real Property Registration Rules. The registry holds it as internal information, and it is not open to the public under the Real Property Registration Act. Neither October change is a purchase ban. Lending is not covered here.

Updated 4 October 2026: Added that the withholding on a sale also applies when the seller is a foreign corporation.

Updated .

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Official sources

Full method and the matrix: Foreign and non-resident buyer rules.