TOKYO - The Japanese government plans to expand its probe into the buying and selling of condominiums by foreigners to those residing in the country in fiscal 2027 or later, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for the first time conducted a survey last year on condominium transactions in major metropolitan areas involving people who have their addresses abroad, amid concerns that speculative purchases by foreign buyers were driving up condominium prices.
The move comes as many members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party have expressed support for stricter regulations on property purchases by foreign individuals and companies.
The LDP stipulated in its campaign pledge for this year's lower house election that it would consider restricting foreign condo purchases.
The government has since unveiled the goal of realizing "well-ordered and harmonious coexistence" with foreign nationals, and the expansion of the probe to foreigners living in Japan would be one measure to achieve this.
In the upcoming survey, the government is expected to gather and analyze data including purchase trends by nationality and areas where purchases are made to determine whether these are speculative moves.
All real estate buyers in Japan, starting in October, will be required to disclose their nationality during property registration.
The target areas of the survey and whether to include Japanese nationals in the study have yet to be determined, according to the sources.
Last year's survey showed that buyers with overseas addresses accounted for 3 percent of purchasers of new condominiums in Tokyo in the January-June period of 2025. The ministry said there was no trend of short-term transactions involving high-end property and no significant impact on rising prices as a result of the transactions.
"Some of them are foreigners living and working in Japan, and the transactions themselves are not the problem," a government source said, adding speculative transactions are undesirable regardless of whether they are by Japanese or foreign nationals.
Since the World Trade Organization states in its principles that member nations including Japan should not discriminate against foreigners, it is considered difficult to introduce restrictions targeting foreigners alone.
