HYOGO, May 12, 2026 (News On Japan) - Foreign acquisition of Japanese land has become a growing topic of debate in recent years, and now the trend is reaching Ashiya, one of the Kansai region’s most prestigious residential areas, where soaring property prices are increasingly being linked to demand from wealthy Chinese buyers.
Ashiya in Hyogo Prefecture is widely regarded as one of western Japan’s most exclusive residential districts, home to upscale neighborhoods such as Rokurokuso, long admired by affluent Kansai residents for its quiet streets and spacious estates.
However, local residents and real estate agents say the area has recently seen a sharp increase in purchases by Chinese buyers, with some properties changing hands for extraordinary sums.
According to long-established local real estate executive Yamamoto, who has operated in Ashiya for more than 50 years, many of the homes in Rokurokuso are worth between 1 billion yen and 2 billion yen once land and construction costs are included, placing them beyond the reach of most ordinary Japanese buyers.
At the same time, inheritance taxes on such estates can amount to well over 1 billion yen, forcing some Japanese owners to sell properties that have remained in families for generations.
Yamamoto said Chinese investors have been actively purchasing such homes, sometimes for redevelopment or resale purposes.
One property purchased by a Chinese buyer for approximately 750 million yen was later resold for around 1.2 billion yen, while another reportedly owned by a Chinese national had previously been listed for sale at 1.6 billion yen.
The trend is not limited to older estates. Newly built homes and speculative transactions are also increasing, with videos promoting Ashiya real estate widely circulating on Chinese social media platforms.
Real estate demand has also spread to coastal areas such as Shioya and Suzukazecho, where ocean views and newly developed residential districts have become especially popular among Chinese buyers.
Suzukazecho, a relatively new seaside neighborhood developed over the past two decades, is now seeing rapid price increases. Some local residents estimate that roughly half of the recent buyers in parts of the district are Chinese.
Residents say Chinese buyers often encourage friends and acquaintances to move into the same neighborhoods, gradually forming close-knit communities.
Yamamoto explained that while the area had once been popular with Japanese buyers, concerns over earthquake and tsunami risks had weakened domestic demand in recent years, helping create opportunities for foreign purchasers.
He added that many Chinese buyers are particularly attracted to homes overlooking both the sea and mountains, which are viewed favorably from a feng shui perspective.
The weak yen has further strengthened Japan’s appeal to overseas buyers, with some residents noting that Japanese real estate now appears comparatively inexpensive to affluent Chinese investors.
One Chinese homeowner interviewed during the report said he was drawn to Japan because he liked Japanese food, anime and the people, while proudly showing off his luxury ocean-view home in Suzukazecho.
Yet the rapid influx of foreign residents has also sparked friction within parts of the community.
Residents complained of littering, illegal garbage disposal and a failure by some newcomers to follow local waste collection rules, with uncollected garbage reportedly becoming a recurring problem in some areas.
Signs written in Chinese warning against littering and improper garbage disposal have appeared around residential neighborhoods.
Some residents said they moved to the area because of its cleanliness and quiet atmosphere, but now feel the environment is gradually deteriorating.
Even some Chinese residents acknowledged the issue, saying that while they personally follow Japanese rules, they cannot control the behavior of others.
Ashiya city officials said they have received requests for multilingual guidance materials regarding garbage disposal and other community rules, adding that the city hopes to promote coexistence and diversity as the foreign population increases.
Foreign ownership of real estate remains largely unrestricted in Japan, but experts studying land acquisition issues argue that Japan’s legal framework has been too weak regarding long-term national land management.
The Japanese government is currently studying the situation and considering possible rule revisions as debate over foreign land ownership continues.
Experts warn that Japan will increasingly need foreign residents to sustain society in the future, but say clearer systems are needed to ensure that community rules can be shared and understood regardless of language barriers.
Source: KTV NEWS
