Japan is planning to require new property owners to disclose their nationality in the new real estate registry database starting in fiscal 2026, Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi announced Tuesday, enabling the government to track what properties are owned by foreign nationals.
The announcement came as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration aims, for national and economic security reasons, to place restrictions on foreign nationals aiming to buy real estate, the details of which are not yet known.
The revision will mean buyers must disclose their nationality to become a registered owner with the government — which can help, for example, if there is any future dispute regarding ownership — but the disclosure is not a prerequisite for actually buying property.