TOKYO - As Japan's Upper House election approaches, party leaders debated whether restrictions should be placed on foreign property ownership. Amid soaring housing prices—especially in Tokyo where secondhand condominium prices now exceed 100 million yen—seven of the eight major political parties expressed support for some form of regulation on foreign homebuyers.
As the dream of homeownership becomes increasingly elusive for many Japanese citizens, foreign investment—particularly from wealthy individuals abroad—has come under scrutiny as a contributing factor to the real estate boom. The question posed to party leaders was whether Japan should follow the example of other countries that have introduced regulations or taxes on property purchases by foreigners.
Seven of the eight parties voiced support for some level of restriction. Liberal Democratic Party leader Ishiba acknowledged that speculation in real estate, whether by foreigners or Japanese nationals, is problematic and emphasized the need to urgently assess the situation while referencing international legal frameworks. Constitutional Democratic Party leader Noda supported the idea of reciprocal arrangements but stressed that areas near critical national infrastructure should be subject to independent regulations for security reasons. Japan Innovation Party leader Yoshimura argued that there is a clear imbalance since Japanese nationals cannot buy land in China, yet Chinese buyers face no such limitations in Japan. He insisted that Japan should establish equal conditions.
Komeito leader Saito, drawing from his experience as the former Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, noted that the issue had been seriously considered within his party and included in their election platform, particularly in light of relations with China. Tamaki, head of the Democratic Party for the People, cited Canada as an example, where foreign buyers are taxed if they purchase homes for non-residential or speculative purposes. He said his party intends to submit legislation on the issue during the autumn extraordinary session of the Diet. Reiwa Shinsengumi’s Oishi pointed to a global trend of ultra-wealthy individuals acquiring property worldwide, leading to inflated housing markets and unaffordable rents, and called for international regulation of such wealth accumulation. Sanseito leader Kamiya warned that without restrictions, Japanese citizens would continue to be outbid by foreign buyers, many of whom do not reside in Japan, making it difficult to enforce inheritance or property taxes and exacerbating economic inequality.
Only the Japanese Communist Party opposed the idea of restricting foreign buyers, with chair Tamura arguing that the real issue lies in speculative investment itself, not the nationality of the investor. She stated that targeting foreigners specifically is misguided and that regulations should apply universally to those who treat property as a financial asset rather than a place to live.
The debate underscored growing public concern over housing affordability and the role of foreign capital in domestic real estate, setting the stage for what many consider a crucial election for the direction of Japan’s future economic and social policy. Voting is scheduled to take place on July 20th.
Source: FNN
