🏢 Nationality Disclosure Required for Real Estate Registration

❓ What's changing?

When acquiring real estate (land or buildings), the registration application must now include nationality and identity documents (passport, residence card, etc.). This applies to everyone, including Japanese nationals. Nationality will not appear on the public registry but will be managed in a government database.

📋 Specific changes

• ●Nationality must be stated on registration applications
• ●Passport or residence card submission required
• ●Applies to everyone, not just foreigners
• ●Corporate representatives must also provide nationality
• ●Applies to inheritance registrations too

🔒 Privacy handling

• ✓Nationality NOT shown on public registry records
• ✓Managed and analyzed in government internal database
• ✓Centrally managed by the Legal Affairs Bureau
• ✓Purpose: national security and land use transparency
• ✓Handled under Personal Information Protection Act

👥 Who's affected?

• ✓Foreigners purchasing real estate in Japan
• ✓Foreigners inheriting property
• ✓Foreign corporations investing in real estate
• ✓Japanese nationals also required to state nationality (formal change)

📈 Background

Introduced because of increasing foreign capital acquisitions of border islands and security-sensitive land. The government aims to accurately track land ownership. This extends the 2022 "Important Land Survey Act."

📝 Process flow

1. 1Sign real estate purchase agreement
2. 2Commission a judicial scrivener for registration
3. 3Include nationality on application + submit passport/residence card copy
4. 4Legal Affairs Bureau reviews and completes registration
5. 5Registry shows only address and name (nationality not public)