Yes. Foreigners can buy and own property in Japan.

If you are considering an investment in Japanese real estate from overseas, this is the first question you are likely asking — and the answer is refreshingly simple. There is no nationality requirement, no residency requirement, and no visa requirement to own property in Japan. A foreign individual or a foreign company can purchase land and buildings under the same procedures as a Japanese national, hold them with no expiry on ownership, and freely sell, transfer, or pass them on through inheritance.

For investors based in Singapore, Hong Kong, or Taiwan — markets where foreign property ownership often comes with conditions — this openness is worth understanding in full.

Japan is unusually open by global standards

Japan's approach to foreign ownership is, by international comparison, remarkably liberal. Across much of Asia, foreign investors face outright bans or significant restrictions on acquiring land. Japan takes the opposite stance: ownership rights apply regardless of nationality, for both residential and investment property, with no time limit on how long you may hold an asset.

This open position is generally understood to trace back to Japan's commitments under the 1994 General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), under which Japan did not file special reservations on land transactions. The widely cited consequence is that legislation treating foreign buyers differently from domestic buyers is, as a rule, difficult to enact. For an overseas investor, the practical takeaway is straightforward: you are buying into one of the most accessible major property markets in the world.

What is actually required

Being legally free to buy does not mean the process is identical to a domestic purchase. The most common difference affects non-resident buyers, who do not hold the Japanese residence certificate (juminhyo) and registered seal certificate (inkan shomeisho) that the ownership registration process normally relies on.

In place of these, a non-resident buyer typically provides an affidavit prepared in their home country and authenticated by a notary, which serves as proof of address and identity for the registration. Some jurisdictions — Taiwan and South Korea among them — have their own seal-registration systems that can be used instead. None of this is an obstacle to ownership; it is simply paperwork that needs to be handled correctly, which is where working with an agent and a licensed team familiar with cross-border transactions makes the difference.

One exception worth knowing: the Land Use Regulation Act

Japan does have one law that overseas buyers should be aware of. The Act on the Review and Regulation of the Use of Land Surrounding Important Facilities (commonly, the "Land Use Regulation Act"), enacted in 2021, allows the government to monitor land use around security-sensitive sites — such as Self-Defense Force bases, nuclear facilities, and remote border islands.

It is important to understand what this law is and is not. It does not prohibit foreign ownership. Its purpose is to give the government visibility into how land near sensitive sites is used, and in designated areas it may require a prior notification. For the overwhelming majority of investment properties — an apartment building in a city, a commercial building, a residential unit — it has no practical effect. We mention it here because a complete picture matters more than a reassuring one.

What comes next

So the headline is settled: you can buy, you can own indefinitely, and the market is open to you. The more practical questions follow from there — What taxes will I pay? Can a foreigner obtain financing in Japan? How is the property managed after purchase?

Those are the questions we work through next.

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Can Foreigners Buy Property in Japan? A Clear Answer for Overseas Investors