Recent changes in Japanese law state that foreign buyers of property in Japan must include a local representative on the property registration. This requirement is called a “domestic contact” in Japan, or a Japanese “correspondence address.”
Does Japan Require a Local Contact to Buy Real Restate?
Yes, (according to a law established in 2021) beginning in April 2024, foreign owners of real estate in Japan are required to have a local contact on the property title that is recorded as the sale is completed.
If the owner lives in Japan, they can list themselves as the local contact. If the buyer does not live in Japan, they are required to list a designated third party (a person or company), along with a correspondence address in Japan for that entity, to serve as a point of contact for any issues related to the property.
As of early 2025, foreign buyers that do not have a domestic contact are (in practice) still able to complete the purchase of property. In fact, there are reports that most foreign buyers do no actually provide that domestic contact as the sale is completed. While the law is clear, enforcement of the law could change in the future. See our recommendation for foreign buyers below.
What are the Laws that Mandated the Need for a Domestic Contact?
The law that states that foreign buyers of real estate must provide a local entity in Japan as the domestic contact were part of changes made to The Real Property Registration Act (in 2021). As of April 2024, The Real Property Registration Act requires:
“When the registered person of ownership does not have an address in Japan, [they must supply] the name or title, the address and other information (specified by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Justice) of a domestic point of contact within Japan.”
Changes to the laws related to property registration in Japan were made in 2021, and were mandated to begin effective April 2024. The department that is responsible for those laws is Japan’s Ministry of Justice (法務省).
The term the Japanese use for a designated third party listed on the title is kokunai renrakusaki (こくないれんらくさき or 国内連絡先 in Japanese).
Domestic Contact for Real Estate in Japan
When a foreign buyer wants to purchase real estate in Japan, as the sale is completed (on the day of closing), the name of a domestic contact must be added to the property registration. This domestic contact can be an individual or a company.
For residents of Japan that own residential property in Japan; the owner typically lives on the property, and official notices can be sent to the owner at the address of the property itself. For foreigners that live outside of Japan, notices sent to property located in Japan will not be received (or not in a timely manner).
For both Japanese owners and foreign owners of property in Japan, in order to improve communication about ownership of property located in Japan, the Japanese government requires the name and a correspondence address of a contact in Japan. For foreigners that reside outside of Japan, the local Japanese contact is called a domestic contact or domestic agent.
Examples of Domestic Contacts for Real Estate Transactions in Japan
Examples of acceptable domestic contacts for foreigners in Japan include real estate agents, property management companies, and tax administrators in Japan. However, as there is no licensing required to serve as a domestic contact, in theory, any willing adult with an permanent address in Japan can fulfill this role.
Property owners are wise to choose an effective domestic contact, one that will be able to facilitate communication when and if that is ever required. See our recommendations to domestic contacts below.
Criteria to Serve as the Domestic Contact in a Real Estate Transaction in Japan
There are no licenses or other designations required to be a domestic contact for an owner of real estate in Japan. A domestic contact is just that; a contact that resides in Japan that can be reached in case of any questions (or emergencies) related to the ownership of the property, that can then be responsible for communicating with the owner (which may reside in a country outside of Japan).
The qualifications for a domestic contact for real estate in Japan are:
— They must be an adult, and a natural citizen of Japan or a permanent resident, or a Japanese corporation with the company corporate number (a Japanese godokaisha or kabushikigaisha)
— They must have an address within the country of Japan
— They must provide consent to the property buyer/owner to serve as the domestic contact
Can a Local Japanese Real Estate Agent be the Domestic Contact?
Yes, a real estate agent in Japan can serve as the domestic contact for a foreign owner of property in Japan.
While local Japanese real estate agents are highly incentivized to provide service before and during the sale, once the sale is complete many agents will not want to be entangled with further duties – particularly if they are not paid an ongoing fee by the owner to act as an agent (or property manager). It is common for agents to list their own contact information, but many agents will resist that idea. They are not required (or advised) to help buyers satisfy this obligation.
In most cases, some entity other than the buyer’s real estate agent is a better choice. Two common choices for international owners of Japanese real estate used as domestic contacts are property management companies in Japan and Japanese tax representatives.
Can a Property Management Company Serve as a Domestic Contact?
Yes, a property management company can fulfill the role of a domestic agent for an owner of real estate in Japan that lives outside of Japan.
While most property management companies serve local Japanese owners, there are property management companies in Japan that have experience with foreign owners, and are prepared to provide services to those foreign clients. Property managers can not only fulfill the role of a domestic contact required at the time of sale, but can also potentially be responsible for paying Japanese property taxes and other local bills.
For foreign owners that need someone that can physically access their property in Japan, a local Japanese property management company is often an ideal solution. However, for owners that only need a domestic contact or help processing local mail within Japan, or paying bills, a tax administrator in Japan may be a more cost-effective solution.
If a foreign owner wants to hire a property management company to serve as the domestic contact, they should establish a contract with a local property manager before the sale, so that property manager has confirmed they are willing to serve in the domestic contact role, and so that their contact information is available (in advance) to be added (by the judicial scrivener) to the property registration on the closing day of the sale.
For introductions to Osaka property management companies, contact us and we can make an introduction.
Can a Japanese Tax Administrator be a Domestic Contact for Foreign Buyers?
Yes, a tax representative can provide the service that foreign property owners in Japan need regarding the requirements of a domestic agent for the property registration in Japanese property transactions.
The role and function of a tax administrator go beyond serving as a domestic contact, but can easily fit the requirements set by the Ministry of Justice. Like a domestic contacts, a tax administrators for foreigners in Japan do not need to be licensed. They may be a person or a company. In all cases, this tax representative for foreigners is empowered to receive mail, bills, and financial statements on behalf of the property owner, and then may process payments and other local needs for the owner.
For property owners in Japan, a tax representative is often better suited to fulfill the role of a domestic contact than a property management company. The domestic contact for foreign property owners does not need to live or work near the location of the owner’s property; the requirement is only that they have an address in Japan. If an owner does not need in-person service at the property, the monthly rate paid to a tax administrator is typically lower than local property management. Paying a monthly fee for a tax administrator in Japan can help foreign owners deal with Japanese property tax and other payments, and can often be an effective domestic contact as well.
Since the details of the domestic contact are due at the time the sale is completed, establishing a relationship with a tax administrator should be done in advance of the sale; so that agreement is confirmed, and the tax administrator has agreed in advance to have their name and contact details listed on the property registration as the sale transpires.
For introductions to Osaka tax representatives, contact us and we can make an introduction.
Is it Possible to Buy Real Estate if You Do Not Have a Domestic Contact?
While the law states that (since April 2024) foreign property owners must provide the name and address of a local domestic contact, in practice (as of 2025) there is no penalty for failing to include a domestic contact in the property registration. If a buyer cannot, or does not want to, provide a designated third party to serve as the domestic contact, the The Real Property Registration Act says:
“When there is no domestic contact person, [the property owner must supply] a statement to that effect.”
In practice, as of 2024 and 2025, very few foreign buyers are complying with the law.
So while there is a law that states foreigners need a domestic agent, it is currently acceptable in practice to simply state that no contact exists. Practically speaking, that means that the requirement functions like a suggestion, and even when a domestic contact cannot be provided, the real estate transaction may be completed. In place of the name and address of a domestic agent, the judicial scrivener can state that the buyer does not have a domestic contact. Since transactions may proceed without a domestic contact, and there is no fine for failing to provide an emergency contact for the local property in Japan, there is some confusion in the market place about this requirement.
Example of How a Domestic Contact is Used in a Real Estate Transaction
The concept of a domestic contact relates to the recording of the details of property ownership on the title as part of the property registration process. The timing in which the domestic agent becomes a part of a real estate transaction in Japan is during the closing of the sale of the property. The actual inclusion of the contact details for a domestic contact for the foreign owner is performed by a legal specialist called a judicial scrivener.
“The procedure for registration of transfer of ownership is carried out by the seller and the buyer jointly by applying to the Legal Affairs Bureau or other registration office… The seller and the buyer usually deliver a power of attorney to the same judicial scrivener together with the documents required for the title of registration procedure, and the said judicial scrivener performs the procedure.”
— From the book Comprehensive Guide to Real Estate Transaction in Japan
In advance of the day in which the sale of a property in Japan is to be completed, the local Japanese real estate agents work with the seller and buyer to prepare the details for closing. The agents then communicate those details to the judicial scrivener – a third-party legal specialist that is responsible for changing the record of ownership (and contact information) on the official title, as recorded with the Legal Affairs Bureau.
While there is a buyer and a seller in each transaction, typically only one judicial scrivener is involved in the transaction, and the services of that professional are paid for by the buyer:
“In sales agreements in Japan, the procedure for registration of ownership transfer is always required. It is often stipulated that the buyer, who benefits from the transfer of ownership registration procedure, bears the cost of the registration procedure.”
— From our review of Real Estate Transaction in Japan
As property registration is updated with changes to reflect the new ownership of a property, this additional information about a “domestic contact” for foreign owners is now a part of the Japanese real estate recording of the property title. When the local government or other parties in Japan wish to communicate with the owner of property in Japan, the records concerning a domestic contact in place at the Legal Affair Bureau are intended to enable interested parties to find contact information for the property owner, even when the owner does not live in Japan.
These requirements for additional domestic contact details for real estate are intended to reduce problems that arise when the owner of a property cannot be located or effectively engaged in communication.
Purpose of Requiring a Domestic Contact in Japanese Property Transactions
The primary purpose of the 2021 changes to the Japanese real estate laws is to reduce the occurrence of property where the owner is unknown to the government and cannot be contacted. In Japan, the term for property where the owner is unknown is called shoyusha fumei tochi (しょゆうしゃふめいとち or 所有者不明土地 in Japanese).
According to an Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism report on a survey of property owners (conducted in 2017):
“The surveyed percentage of owner-unknown land [in Japan] is 20.3%.”
— MLIT, Japanese Government
As per the survey data from MLIT, there is currently a high-percentage of property in Japan where the owner is unknown, or unresponsive to contact. The lack of current and accurate property registration data creates ongoing problems for the community when the property is unclaimed, when there is a failure to pay local property taxes in Japan, when the property is unsightly or dangerous (as structures decay, trees and vegetation become overgrown, etc), when properties that are collecting trash or other debris, or when there are other local nuisances.
The purpose of these laws is generally not focused on foreign buyers, but is to improve the ability of the government (and other parties) to communicate with all properties owners in Japan, allowing them to resolve problems, or to enable the use or sale of properties.
In part due to the increase in abandoned property (such as akiya properties in Japan), the Japanese government has created these changes in law for all property owners in Japan; the impact of the laws will apply mostly to the Japanese themselves, and in specific cases where foreigners own Japanese property, will include concepts like the domestic agent for real estate transactions.
Changes in Property Registration are Primary Related to Registration of Inheritance
One major use-case that is meant to be resolved by these changes to the Real Property Registration Act regarding property registration, is with regard to the death of a property owner and the subsequent inheritance, or transfer of ownership, of that property by heirs or assignees.
When the owner of a property in Japan dies, both the value of the real property, and the responsibility for that property remain in the community where the property is located. Even if the property is unused, property taxes still need to be paid, and other duties of the property owner need to be performed, including maintenance of the property related to the deterioration of the structure or the impact of natural forces. When the value of the property is recognized, there may be a plan to take care of the property after the owner dies; an heir is assigned, and that heir (a person or a company) becomes the point of contact for that property (for property taxes, as well as for offers to buy that property, etc). If there is no known heir to the real estate in Japan, and/or the property registration has not been updated, the local government and other interested parties are unable to communicate with those responsible for the property, and legal and physical issues related to the property begin to cause problems for the local community.
The primary intention of these legal changes are focused on the Japanese, and are concentrated on inheritance procedures, in an effort to avoid a burden on local communities when the owner responsible for the property is unknown or unresponsive. By extension, foreign buyers of property in Japan can sometimes create similar challenges for local communities, as they die or lose interest in a property, and the property becomes abandoned, as no contact is available to receive notices about the property, to manage the property’s value and responsibilities, or to approve a sale, where some other party could assume responsibility for the property.
The bulk of the implication of these measures is centered on educating Japanese owners to update registration on their own property, to be aware this process is necessary, and to provide incentives (and fines) when these processes are not followed. The domestic contact requirement for foreigner property owners has a similar purpose, and is a smaller, related side-initiative to those greater goals.
Recommendation to Foreign Buyers about Domestic Contact Requirements
As local real estate consultants in Osaka, we recommend that all foreign buyers provide a domestic contact as they complete the purchase of property in Japan. If they already own property in Osaka, they might consider having their property registration updated to include the contact information of a domestic agent in Japan.
While the law states that a domestic correspondence address is to be a part of the real estate purchase, judicial scriveners we work with have said it can be done after the sale – although that will mean an additional fee for that service to be paid to the judicial scrivener for the addition to the title. To be in compliance, and to save work and money, the safest path is to provide the domestic contact address at the time the property is purchased.
While the inclusion of this contact cannot hurt the owner, the absence of such a contact may block the sale or transfer of property (now, or in the future), which can be a disadvantage to the owner, to the owner’s heirs, and to the local community where the property is situated. The availability of a functional domestic contact may also be of real benefit to the property owner, as actual problems or opportunities associated with the property (including emergencies that occur when the owner is not in Japan, or offers to buy the property) can be effectively communicated to the owner via that domestic contact relationship.
While the current (as of 2025) procedure to buy property in Japan as a foreigner can, in practice, proceed without a domestic contact, the emphasis of these reforms of real estate law by the Japanese government seems to indicate that a domestic contact will be required to complete a transaction in the future (the law indicates it is already a requirement). In addition, if the Japanese government will begin to fine domestic owners of property in Japan for failing to update the registration of property with regard to changes in ownership due to death or inheritance (such fines are already suggested by the law – where owners will be fined 50,000 – 100,000 JPY if they do not update their property registration within three years of a change of ownership due to inheritance), the government may choose to fine or provide other disincentives for foreign owners to force them to comply with domestic agent contact policies.
If a foreign owner of real estate in Japan changes their primary residence (in their home country), they should contact their domestic contact in Japan to communicate their new address, and confirm their email, phone number, etc. We recommend that the foreign property owner provide both a primary contact, and a separate emergency back-up contact to their domestic agent in Japan. In the event that local or national parties in Japan need to contact the foreign owner of Japanese property, those entities in Japan would communicate with the owner’s domestic contact; and then that domestic agent in Japan would try the primary contact for the owner (preferably by phone and email, then secondarily by postal mail); when the primary contact for a foreign owner cannot be reached or is unresponsive, the domestic contact can proceed to contact the owner’s emergency contact as a next-step.
If the underlying purpose of all these changes to Japanese property registration law is to create more order and better communication with regard to property ownership in Japan, foreign buyers and owners of Japanese property can reduce the risk of penalty, and benefit from more effective communication, when they are in compliance with the new laws.
Recommendations to Domestic Contacts for Foreign Owners of Property in Japan
While buyers from outside of Japan can potentially use any willing agent as their domestic contact for real estate in Japan, owners and buyers are wise to use an effective domestic contact that can actually provide the benefits of better communication with local and national authorities in Japan.
It may not be enough to have “a contact;” owners and buyers should work with a domestic contact that has a plan to effectively contact the owner of the property in Japan, including the current contact for an emergency or backup contact for the owner. While the Japanese government only allows for one domestic contact in the registration process, the domestic contact can establish a primary and secondary contact with the owner of a property, which will only help ensure the owner’s rights and responsibilities can be communicated.
While the Japanese government and other parties may communicate by postal mail, effective domestic contacts in Japan can benefit by first trying email- and phone-based communication, and using postal mail as a confirmation or as a last resort.
Judicial Scriveners and Domestic Contacts for Foreign Real Estate Owners
As stated earlier in this article, a local judicial scrivener will be responsible for the actual changes to the title that include the property owners’ details, as well as the domestic contact information.
In most transactions, the real estate agents involved in the transaction can provide a suitable, licensed judicial scrivener for those processes. Generally speaking, foreigners buying property in Osaka do not need to hire a judicial scrivener; the local Osaka real estate agents have the experience and local connections to make arrangements for that role.
If for any reason the seller or buyer for a property in Osaka would like an introduction to a local Osaka judicial scrivener, we are happy to help. Please contact us to learn more.
Real Estate Agents in Osaka
These details about the role of a domestic contact in real estate transactions are relatively new (originating from 2021) additions to Japanese property law. When foreign buyers are working with an experienced local real estate agent in Osaka, those buyers are less likely to need to know the details of Japanese real estate law; a good local Japanese real estate agent will prepare all the details needed to complete the purchase of property, and will coordinate third-party resources like a judicial scrivener.
For introductions to experienced, pre-screened Osaka real estate agents, contact us – we are happy to help.
See Also:
— Summary of the Domestic Contact Requirement in Property Transactions for Foreigners
— Tax accountants in Osaka that speak English
— Details of special zone minpaku in Osaka