Property price surge in Tokyo's prime areas sparks calls to curb foreign ownership

In Tokyo's Shibuya district, towering skyscrapers and luxury condominiums symbolize Japan's municipality existent property frenzy — with prices surging successful caller years.

In 2024, the mean terms of caller condos successful the 23 municipalities astatine the bosom of Tokyo deed 111.81 cardinal yen (about $760,000), according to Real Estate Economic Research Institute's study earlier this year.  The median terms — a amended gauge of the marketplace — was 89.4 cardinal yen, up 9% from a twelvemonth earlier.

On a median basis, condo prices successful Tokyo's 23 wards jumped astir 64% from 2021 to 2025, acold outpacing the 26% emergence crossed the greater Tokyo area.

Meanwhile, Japan's income levels stay debased compared with respective of its developed peers, with weaker minimum wage and 1 of the widest sex wage gaps, making affordability a concern. In 2024, Japan ranked 25 retired of 34 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranked connected a purchasing powerfulness parity–adjusted, mean yearly wages basis, astatine $49,446.

Property prices successful Tokyo's premier districts person soared, fueled successful portion by rising operation and labour costs, and arsenic a anemic yen and comparatively debased valuations gully overseas investors.

The municipality spot roar has attracted governmental attention, with treatment astir overseas superior restrictions featured during the caller Upper House elections. Unlike countries specified arsenic Australia, Canada and Singapore, Japan has virtually nary restrictions connected overseas spot ownership.

The Democratic Party for the People oregon DPFP, which secured coagulated gains successful the July elections, is expected to array a measure curbing overseas existent property purchases arsenic aboriginal arsenic the autumn bonzer Diet session, according to section media. DPFP person Yuichiro Tamaki has argued that location prices successful municipality areas person soared partially owed to overseas investors buying spot for non-residential, speculative purposes, and has floated the thought of a "vacancy tax" to curb specified acquisitions.

Meanwhile, Sanseitō, a right-wing populist enactment campaigning connected a "Japan First" anti-immigration platform, is besides preparing its ain connection to curb overseas onshore acquisition but has not yet specified a timeline for submission.

With the ruling conjugation lacking a bulk successful some houses of the Diet, the positions of absorption parties person go progressively captious successful shaping legislative outcomes.

Tobias Harris, laminitis of governmental hazard advisory steadfast Japan Foresight, said it was hard to abstracted overseas spot ownership from broader debates astir Japan's overseas population. While not the centerpiece of Sanseitō's platform, helium said the contented stands retired due to the fact that it offers a clearer ineligible way for enactment versus different issues.

"The party's rhetoric connected the contented has emphasized some nationalist information and economical security, hinting astatine the dangers of definite foreigners buying spot and besides the interaction connected Japanese prime of beingness if they can't spend houses."

The nonstop standard of overseas buying is hard to pin down, arsenic Japan does not people authoritative statistic connected purchaser nationality, but a semiannual survey by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp, published successful March 2025, recovered that successful Tokyo's Chiyoda, Shibuya, and Minato wards, 20% to 40% of caller apartments are typically sold to overseas buyers.

"Foreigners buying is 1 factor, but home investors and residents are besides buying," said Makoto Sakuma, elder researcher astatine Japanese deliberation vessel NLI Research Institute.

Sakuma noted that though the Bank of Japan has raised involvement rates since March past year, they stay debased successful existent presumption and ample liquidity is inactive circulating successful the marketplace with overmuch of it flowing into municipality property.

Harris said the outlook for immoderate legislative alteration depends connected Japan's governmental landscape. A caller premier curate oregon shifting conjugation dynamics could reshape however absorption parties enactment issues similar overseas ownership connected the agenda.

Romeo Marcantuoni, a doctoral campaigner astatine Waseda University who focuses connected Japanese absorption politics, said the salience of the contented moving up is improbable to fade, noting that Sanseito has ramped up its rhetoric connected foreigners and overseas superior since winning 3 Lower House seats past year.

Still, helium noted the legislative way is uncertain, arsenic much pressing priorities, specified arsenic taxation cuts, currency handouts, and a gasoline levy is apt to predominate discussions successful the adjacent term.

While Tokyo's colonisation continues to rise, Japan's wide colonisation has been declining since 2008, creating a crisp spread successful request betwixt municipality and agrarian areas.

And portion determination has been a spot roar successful large cities, the state had astir 9 cardinal abandoned homes, known arsenic akiya, arsenic of 2023, chiefly successful agrarian regions.

Although akiya tin beryllium purchased cheaply, they don't lucifer the needs of galore home buyers. Many are successful disrepair, located acold from jobs and services, oregon necessitate renovations costing $20,000 to $300,000, depending connected the property's authorities and location. Cultural stigma astir secondhand homes and constricted authorities enactment for revitalization further bounds their appeal.

"When you look astatine the countryside, we person a immense occupation with stagnation, prices are not rising and houses are not selling," said Parker Allen, co-founder of Akiya & Inaka, a existent property level helping overseas buyers find and revive vacant houses successful agrarian Japan.

Akiya clasp small entreaty for astir Japanese, but they person been catching the attraction of overseas buyers seeking little prices, accepted architecture, and the romance of restoring an aged home. Allen warns that immoderate imaginable restrictions connected overseas spot ownership should beryllium aimed lone astatine metropolitan markets wherever contention with locals is fiercest.

"The astir logical mode is to absorption connected the cities," helium said. "If overseas buying is accelerating, it could terms immoderate radical retired of the marketplace — but we're talking present lone astir the Fifth Avenues of Japan."