Post-Purchase Reporting
\nSettle three questions before the transaction is complete.
\nYou do not need to work out the filing process alone. You do need clear answers to three questions before the transaction is complete:
\nThis guide walks through each question, including why a low purchase price or plans to live in the home may not change the answer. It also explains what to do if you discover a required deadline has already passed.
\nPost-Purchase Reporting
\nYour status under the reporting rule matters more than your nationality alone.
\nJapan's Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA) requires certain people classified as non-residents to report an acquisition of Japanese real property or certain related rights. A required report goes to the Minister of Finance through the Bank of Japan, generally within 20 days after acquisition.
\n\"Foreign\" and \"non-resident\" are not the same thing here. A foreign national living and working in Japan may be treated as a resident under FEFTA. Someone living overseas may be treated as a non-resident. Your nationality alone does not answer the question.
\nIf you are unsure about your status, ask a professional familiar with your transaction to check it before you assume you do or do not need to file.
\nPost-Purchase Reporting
\nCheck the rules for your acquisition date, even if you plan to live in the home.
\nOlder buying guides may say that a non-resident does not need to report a property bought for residential use. That advice may not apply to acquisitions on or after April 1, 2026. Under the rules described in Ministry of Finance guidance for that date, a non-resident's acquisition of real property itself is generally reportable even when the buyer plans to live there. Limited exemptions may still apply to certain rights relating to property.
\nThe price does not settle the question either. There is no minimum purchase price or land-area threshold for this reporting rule. A low-cost akiya (a vacant home in Japan) can raise the same filing question as a more expensive house.
\nIf you have been browsing cheap listings, this is worth checking early. The amount you pay for the house does not tell you how much paperwork comes with it.
\nPost-Purchase Reporting
\nThe acquisition date may be different from the day you receive the keys.
\nThe deadline is generally measured from the date of acquisition, not necessarily the day you receive the keys. Ministry of Finance guidance identifies different possible acquisition dates depending on the transaction. These can include the contract date, the ownership-transfer date, or, for an inheritance, the date the inheritance is determined.
\nImagine signing a contract and expecting the keys several weeks later. If you wait until key handover to ask about the report, you may have calculated the deadline from the wrong date.
\nAsk the professional handling your purchase which date applies to your transaction. Put the resulting deadline on your closing checklist.
\nPost-Purchase Reporting
\nIdentify the form, the person filing it, and how you will confirm submission.
\nA qualifying acquisition is reported using Form No. 22. Depending on the transaction, it asks for details about the buyer, the property, how it was acquired, the acquisition date, the price or other consideration, and the other party. Some details come from purchase and registration documents.
\nA non-resident buyer can submit the report, or a resident agent in Japan can submit it on the buyer's behalf. The report is in Japanese and can be submitted on paper or through the Bank of Japan's online system.
\nDo not assume that the real estate agent or judicial scrivener will file it automatically. Agree on who will gather the information, prepare the report, submit it, and send you confirmation.
\nIf you are buying with someone else, ask whether each buyer needs a separate report. Joint ownership, multiple properties, company purchases, and rights involving leased land can need a closer look.
\nPost-Purchase Reporting
\nNo. Registering ownership does not complete a required FEFTA report.
\nNo. Property registration records ownership and other property rights. Residence registration concerns a registered address in Japan, if applicable. The FEFTA report concerns a qualifying acquisition by a non-resident.
\nFinishing one process does not mean the others are finished. Keep the report as a separate item on your checklist.
\nPost-Purchase Reporting
\nCheck whether a report was required and address a late filing promptly.
\nDo not leave a required report unfiled because it is late. Ministry of Finance guidance says to submit it as soon as possible and explain the delay. Ask a professional familiar with the transaction or the appropriate authority for help if you are unsure what to submit.
\nThis is not just optional paperwork. Failing to make a required report, or making a false report, can have real legal consequences under FEFTA. Check the facts, deal with the filing, and do not guess.
\nPost-Purchase Reporting
\nUse these questions to establish whether a report is needed and who will handle it.
\nAsk these questions while the professionals handling your purchase are still working together. If an answer is unclear, settle it before assuming the paperwork is complete.
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