Japan to tighten rules for foreign companies buying large plots of land | World

Yasushi Kaneko, Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, announced the measure at a press conference on Tuesday. In July, the country began requiring people who buy land to indicate their nationality.

Previously, companies were required to only notify the country in which they were legally incorporated. The new rules require information on the nationality of representatives and, if the majority of directors and shareholders share the same nationality, this must also be informed.

Planning laws will be amended to require disclosure of transactions covering at least 2,000 square meters in urban areas, such as commercial and residential areas, or at least 5,000 square meters in designated planning areas outside cities, which may include agricultural land.

For areas outside urban planning zones, such as forests, the rule will apply from 10,000 square meters.

Kaneko said that as of October, 49 cases of groundwater use by foreigners or foreign companies were recorded in 12 municipalities nationwide, in the first such survey by the government.

“We will consider creating a national system to monitor this use,” Kaneko said.

Separately, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama also announced at a press conference on Tuesday that foreigners will have to declare the purchase of property for residential purposes, including information such as address, transaction price and ownership rights. Previously, this information was only required for acquisitions made for investment purposes.

Katayama said there were cases where properties purchased for residential purposes were not used effectively.

“As the purpose of the acquisition is self-declared, the system is inefficient,” he said.