Overview

Purchasing as a Foreign Individual

Purchasing as a US entity

For Individuals

Required Documents

• Signature Cerificate (Japanese national) or Signature Affidavit (Notarized)
• Proof of residency, or Residency Affidavit (must have NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, and ADDRESS, Notarized)
• Translations would be nice to have. I put both on the same page and notarized it. Also made a personal statement stating that the Japanese and English are equivalent (don’t know if this is necessary)

For Corporations

Required Documents

• Signature Cerificate (Japanese national) or Signature Affidavit (Notarized)
• Company’s Articles of Incorporation documents (Notarized)
• Ownership structure and list of corporate representatives (Notarized)
• Japanese translation of all documents listed above

Additional Info

City Hall Grants

[PDF] How to Buy a House in Japan — Guide Notes

General Observations

• vast majority of akiyas are not listed on the market
  • this is for a variety of reasons, top 3:
    • there’s still stuff in the house, and cleaning / taking the stuff out takes a lot of time
      • sometimes there are precious and sensitive objects, like shrines for deceased relatives in the home as well
    • they don’t want to have new owners / people living in the house disturb their hometown neighbors
    • no one knows the owners (either deceased, or fully moved out to urban centers)
• purchasing a home can occur in a variety of ways: there are people in our community who have purchased homes through handshake agreements with the original owner
  • from one of our community members: “we found our place on an Akiya banks website, where there was an artistic map of where it was. We didn't go through the Akiya bank, and found it by chance when driving around. Got out to check it out in person and my wife walked into an old guy who was like wtf is happening. When we told him that we were interested in the place he said he knew the owner (they are friends) and called him up. An hour later we were sat inside the house talking about it. then when speaking to him we said we could pay a small % now and then so much over a year and a half. he said ok, he gave us the keys like the next week before we even moved in”
• land transaction is different from house transaction
  • usually, you’ll have to apply to the agricultural department of whatever town you’re in to approve the transfer, especially as it comes to farmland
• many documents required for purchase are oftentimes specific to Japan (ie seal certificate, address certificate, etc.)
  • additionally, if you are not a japanese citizen, you may have to make an appointment at your embassy, or obtain a notarization under your country’s law
    • for the US embassy, appointments were often booked out 1-2 months in advance, so make sure you schedule your visit ahead of time