Property price surge in Tokyo’s prime areas sparks calls to curb foreign ownership
Housing and commercial properties near the Shibuya region of Tokyo on 4 May 2023.
Richard A. Brooks | AFP | Getty Images
In the Shibuya region of Tokyo, rising skyscrapers and luxury coefficient property symbolize Japan’s urban real estate frenzy – prices have been increasing in recent years.
According to the Report of the Real Estate Economic Research Institute earlier this year, in 2024, the average new condemnation price in the heart of Tokyo’s heart hit $ 111,81 million (about $ 760,000). Average price – a better indicator of the market – an increase of 9% compared to the previous year was 89.4 million yen.
On average, condemnation prices in Tokyo’s 23 wards increased by about 64% from 2021 to 2025 and left behind a 26% increase in the Great Tokyo region.
In the meantime, Japan’s income levels, weaker minimum wage and the widest gender payments are low compared to many of the advanced peers, which are one of the most gaps of gender payments, which makes it a concern. In 2024, Japan ranked 25 of the 34 members of the Economic Cooperation and Development Organization and the purchasing power parity – corrected, was ranked according to $ 49,446 on average annual wage basis.
Real estate prices in the main regions of Tokyo have increased, partially, construction and labor costs increasing and weak yen and relatively low values as overseas investors drew.
Urban property explosion drew political attention with discussions about foreign capital restrictions in the latest upper home elections. Unlike countries such as Australia, Canada and Singapore, Japan has almost no restrictions on foreign property ownership.
According to the local media, the Democratic Party or DPFP, which provides solid gains in the July elections, is expected to put a bill on the table that prevents foreign real estate purchases until the extraordinary diet session in the autumn. DPFP leader Yuichiro Tamaki argued that housing prices in urban areas have risen due to overseas investors who have purchased property for non -residential, speculative purposes and increased the idea of a “gap tax” to prevent these purchases.
Meanwhile, Sanseitō, a right -wing populist party that campaigns on Japan’s first anti -immigration platform, is preparing its own offer to prevent foreign land acquisition, but has not yet specified a timeline for the presentation.
In both homes of the diet, the power coalition that lacks the majority has become increasingly more critical in shaping the legislative results of the opposition parties.
Political Risk Consultancy Firm Japan Founder Tobias Harris said that it is difficult to distinguish foreign property ownership from wider discussions about the foreign population of Japan. Although he is not the center of the platform of Sanseitō, he said that the problem stands out because it offers a clearer legal way for action against other problems.
“The party’s discourse on the issue, both national security and economic security emphasized, emphasized the dangers of some foreigners who bought property and the impact on the quality of life on Japanese if they cannot meet the houses.”
Since it does not publish official statistics about Japan’s Receiver Nationality, it is difficult to determine the exact scale of foreign acquisition, but a six -month survey conducted by Mitsubishi Ufj Trust & Banking Corp, published in March 2025, found that Tokyo’s Choma, Shibuya and Minato Wards were typically sold to foreign buyers.
“Foreigners are one of the purchases, but domestic investors and inhabitants are buying,” Makoto Sakuma, Senior Research Institute of the Japanese Thinking Institute. He said.
Sakuma said that although Japan Bank has increased its interest rates since March last year, they have remained truly low and that a large liquidity is still flowing into city ownership.
Harris said that his view of any legislative change depends on the political landscape of Japan. A new prime minister or changing coalition dynamics can reshape how opposition parties put issues such as foreign property on the agenda.
Romeo Marcantoni, a doctoral candidate focusing on Japanese opposition at Wadeda University, said that the progressive issue is unlikely to disappear, and Sanseito has increased the discourse on foreigners and foreign capital since last year’s three lower home seats.
Nevertheless, more urgent priorities such as tax cuts, cash working papers and gasoline tax will dominate the discussions in the near term.
Urban-red division
While the population of Tokyo continues to increase, Japan’s overall population has been decreasing since 2008 and creates a sharp gap in demand between urban and rural areas.
And even though there was a burst of property in big cities, the country had about 9 million abandoned houses, It is known as Akiya as of 2023, primarily in rural areas.
Although Akiya can be purchased cheaply, they do not comply with the needs of many domestic buyers. Many of them require renovation, which cost $ 20,000 to $ 300,000, far from abandoned, far from work and services or depending on the status and position of the property. The second -hand houses further limit limited state support attractiveness for cultural stigmatization and revitalization.
Parker Allen, the founding partner of Akiya & Inaka, a real estate platform that helps to find and revive overseas buyers to find and revive overseas buyers, Parker Allen, “When you look at the rural area, we have a big problem with stagnation, prices do not rise and houses do not sell houses,” he said.
For most Japanese, Akiya attracts the attention of foreign buyers who have little attractive, but looking for lower prices, traditional architectural and romance to restore an old house. Allen warns that possible restrictions on foreign property ownership should be for metropolitan markets where competition with indigenous people is most severe.
“The most logical way is to focus on cities,” he said. “If the purchase of foreign purchases is accelerating, some people can pricing from the market – but here we only talk about Japan’s fifth streets.”
