Practical advice for overseas owners of Japanese real estate. Tax compliance, property management tips, and industry insights.
Japan has post office boxes, but not the kind you can rent over the counter — and even if you got one, somebody in Japan would still have to empty it. What exists, what works for an owner living abroad, and why rural properties are the usual reason people go looking.
Read articleOn 2 October 2026 a government panel recommended that buying land within about 1km of certain defence facilities should require permission. Headlines call it a crackdown on foreign buyers. The recommendation itself says the opposite — here is what it actually proposes.
Read articleJapan's property tax has one owner for the whole year: whoever held the property on 1 January. Sell in December and next year's bill is still yours. How the split works, why it differs between east and west Japan, and what overseas owners get caught by.
Read articleYou close the door, fly home, and come back six months later. What you find depends almost entirely on ten minutes of work before you left. The things that actually go wrong in an empty Japanese house — and the order to deal with them.
Read articleShutting everything off looks like the responsible choice and is usually the expensive one. How electricity, water and gas actually behave in an empty Japanese house, and a simple rule based on how often you visit.
Read articleThe difference between walking into a house that works and spending three days of a short trip on appointments is about four weeks of planning. A timeline for owners flying in to a Japanese second home.
Read articleA Japanese house left empty over winter can destroy itself without anyone touching it. Draining the pipes is the one job that has to happen before the first hard freeze — here is what it involves and when it is due.
Read articleFire insurance in Japan does not cover earthquakes, and an empty house may not be insurable on a normal policy at all. What the two policies actually cover, what an empty house changes, and how a claim works when you live overseas.
Read articleIf you live abroad and let a property in Japan, your tenant may be legally required to withhold 20.42% of the rent and pay it to the tax office. Who withholds, who does not, and how you get the money back.
Read articleJapan's first tax on empty homes targets vacant houses and second homes in Kyoto City. English and Japanese sources keep giving the wrong start date — here is what the city itself says, and what it means for an overseas owner.
Read articleEvery guide tells overseas buyers to inspect a Japanese house before buying. Almost none explain what the standard survey covers, what it leaves out, and what you have to ask for separately.
Read articleFrom October 5, 2026, anyone registered as the owner of Japanese real estate must declare their nationality. Headlines call it a crackdown on foreign buyers. It is not a ban: here is exactly what you submit, who it covers, what stays private, and how it fits with Japan's other 2026 nationality rules.
Read articleSince April 2026, owners of Japanese property must register a change of address within two years or risk a fine. Owners in Japan can let the Legal Affairs Bureau do it for them automatically. Owners living overseas cannot. What the rule requires, the 2028 deadline for older moves, and how to file from abroad.
Read articleJapanese condo associations collect management fees and repair reserves by automatic debit from a Japanese bank account. Foreign cards are not accepted and non-residents usually cannot open an account. Here is how overseas buyers solve it.
Read articleWithout a will, every heir in every country has to sign before anything moves. With one, a single named executor can act. What a Japanese will does, which type avoids a court step, and the question foreign families always miss: whose national law applies at all.
Read articleThe moment a Japanese bank learns an account holder has died, the account stops. Direct debits fail, the property's utilities lapse, and no heir can touch the money until every heir has signed. Here is the process, the emergency withdrawal route, and what changes when you live abroad.
Read articleJapan lets you deduct up to ¥30 million from the capital gain when you sell a home you inherited — but the conditions are narrow, the clock is short, and renting it out for a few months destroys it. What actually qualifies, and what disqualifies you without warning.
Read articleYou have no koseki, no juminhyo, and no registered seal — yet every Japanese inheritance checklist assumes all three. What actually replaces them, how the 2024 registration deadline works, and the stopgap filing that stops the fine while your family decides.
Read articleThe same ¥3 million budget buys a completely different problem depending on where you buy. How akiya differ across remote rural areas, regional cities, Kyoto, the big-city fringe, and resort towns — in price, contractor availability, rules, and whether you can ever sell it again.
Read articleForeigners can buy Japanese vacant houses with no ownership restrictions — but the process runs on Japanese paperwork, a licensed agent's briefing, and a judicial scrivener. The full sequence from finding a property to the obligations that start the day you own it.
Read articleJapan has no single "registered agent" like the US. Instead the job is split into distinct roles — tax representative (納税管理人), domestic contact (国内連絡先), domestic manager (国内管理人). Which ones you need, what each covers, what they cost, and whether to find one yourself or use a service.
Read articleForeign and non-resident owners are often ignored or turned away by Japanese real estate agents, contractors, and offices. Here is why it happens (usually not discrimination), why silence often means no in Japan, and how a Japan-based representative turns a non-answer into a yes.
Read articleAkiya are cheap to buy but expensive to fix — renovation routinely costs more than the purchase price. A 2026 breakdown of akiya renovation costs by work type, realistic full-renovation totals, and the true total cost of owning one from overseas.
Read articleCheap akiya, expensive fees. Japan legally caps agent commission — for properties ¥8 million or under, the maximum is ¥330,000 including tax. Here's what you should really pay when buying an akiya, and how to spot inflated 'consulting fees'.
Read articleYou can sell Japanese property without living in Japan — but you have to decide how the paperwork gets signed. Compare the four realistic ways to handle a remote sale: flying in, power of attorney, an agent with mail-based signing, or a full-service specialist.
Read articleThree similar-sounding Japanese roles that overseas property owners constantly confuse — tax representative (納税管理人), domestic manager (国内管理人), and domestic contact (国内連絡先). Here's exactly what each one does, when it's legally required, and which you actually need.
Read articleJapanese tax offices, banks, and utilities still communicate by physical mail — in Japanese. Compare the four ways to handle it from abroad: Japan Post forwarding, a friend's address, a virtual mailbox, or a property-specialist mail service.
Read articleOverseas heirs of Japanese property face new mandatory registration rules and a 6× tax risk for neglected houses. Compare your four realistic options — sell, rent, keep, or give it up — with costs, deadlines, and the one thing you cannot do: nothing.
Read articleIf you own property in Japan but live abroad, you are required to appoint a tax representative (納税管理人) — and your tax bills stop reaching you if you don't. Who needs one, what happens if you skip it, what the notification form asks for, and the 5 realistic ways to appoint one compared.
Read articleNeed to renovate or repair your Japanese property while living abroad? Learn how to find reliable contractors, get accurate quotes, manage projects remotely, and handle payment without a Japanese bank account.
Read articleA practical guide to capital gains tax (譲渡所得税) in Japan for non-resident sellers. Learn the applicable rates, withholding rules, filing requirements, and how tax treaties may reduce your liability.
Read articleInheriting or leaving Japanese property involves some of the highest inheritance tax rates in the world. This guide explains who is liable, how the tax is calculated, key exemptions, and what steps to take when a family member passes away.
Read articleA complete guide for foreign nationals buying real estate in Japan. Covers ownership rights, required documents, the purchase process, taxes, and the ongoing obligations that begin the moment you become an owner.
Read articleIf a Japanese real estate transaction crosses the resident / non-resident boundary, FEFTA (外為法) requires a report to the Minister of Finance within 20 days. Here's what triggers it, who must file, and why missing the deadline can haunt your property years later.
Read articleStarting April 2026, Japan's revised condominium law introduces a domestic manager (国内管理人) system for overseas owners. Here's what it means for you.
Read articleA comprehensive guide to investing in minpaku (short-term rental) property in Japan. Covers legal requirements, permit types, location analysis, revenue potential, and risks for foreign investors.
Read articleJapan now has 9 million vacant houses — and a wave of new rules for their owners. The 2026 guide to buying an akiya: the 6× property tax trap, mandatory inheritance registration, Kyoto's new vacant-home tax, realistic renovation costs, and how to manage one from overseas.
Read articleLeaving a Japanese property unattended can lead to tax penalties, legal issues, and significant financial loss. Here are the 5 biggest risks every overseas owner should know.
Read articleJapan Post's forwarding service (転送届) does not forward mail overseas and expires after a year — so what do you do with property tax notices and utility bills? How Japanese mail forwarding actually works for non-residents, and the digitization alternative.
Read articleIf you own property in Japan but live overseas, you are legally required to appoint a tax representative. Learn what a 納税管理人 does, why it matters, and how to set one up.
Read articleA practical guide for non-resident owners on managing property taxes, mail, maintenance, and compliance from abroad.
Read articleA comprehensive guide to property taxes in Japan for non-resident owners. Fixed asset tax, city planning tax, deadlines, and how to stay compliant from overseas.
Read articleWe handle tax representation and mail so you can focus on what matters.
