Buying Japan Property From Abroad: The Domestic Contact Rule
If you live outside Japan and become the registered owner of Japanese real estate, the registration application must address a domestic contact in Japan. A contact is not mandatory in the sense that you may formally state that none exists, but since 1 April 2024 the application cannot simply ignore the issue.
The short answer
Japan does not require an overseas buyer to appoint a Japanese nominee owner or become a resident. But for ownership-registration applications made from 1 April 2024, a person or company whose registered address is outside Japan must provide information about a domestic contact in Japan or formally state that there is no domestic contact. Overseas foreign individuals also face specific rules for proving their address and recording their name in Roman letters.
This is a title-registration rule, not a restriction on foreign ownership. It matters at closing because the judicial scrivener cannot treat an overseas buyer exactly like a Japanese resident with a juminhyo.
What changed on 1 April 2024
The Ministry of Justice changed the information and supporting documents required for ownership registrations. For an owner living abroad, three items can now matter at the same closing:
- Domestic-contact information — or an explicit statement that no domestic contact exists.
- Evidence of the overseas address in the form accepted for foreign residents.
- Roman-letter name information when the new registered owner is a foreign individual, subject to limited exceptions.
These requirements also matter in some later address-change registrations. For example, if an existing owner changes from a Japanese address to an overseas address and no domestic-contact information is already registered, the contact question must be dealt with then.
Is a domestic contact actually mandatory?
A domestic contact is not mandatory in the sense that you must find one at any cost. The Ministry of Justice expressly allows the application to say that there is no domestic contact.
That distinction is easy to miss. The rule is better understood as a mandatory domestic-contact disclosure: provide the contact details if you have a contact, or provide the prescribed statement if you do not.
A domestic contact may be an individual or a legal entity. The Ministry specifically gives real-estate businesses and judicial scriveners as examples of the kinds of people or organisations that may perform the role. An overseas corporation with a Japanese office may in some cases use its own domestic establishment.
The contact is not the legal owner and does not replace the buyer on the title.
If you name a contact, what goes into the application?
The exact fields depend on who the contact is. At a high level, the registration needs enough information to identify the person or entity and a Japanese address or business location.
For a natural person, that can mean the person's name and Japanese residential address, or their name plus the location and name of a Japanese office. For a Japanese company, the application can use the company name, head-office address and corporate number, or details of a domestic branch or other office.
Supporting documents generally include:
- evidence of the domestic-contact details;
- the contact person's or entity's consent; and
- a seal certificate, or qualifying electronic signature and electronic certificate.
If there is no domestic contact, the Ministry describes a signed or sealed written statement confirming that fact as the ordinary supporting document.
Do not assemble this package from a generic internet checklist at the last minute. Ask the judicial scrivener handling the transfer which version applies to your contact and document format.
How an overseas individual proves their address
An overseas foreign buyer does not normally have the Japanese residence certificate used by a resident buyer. For ownership-registration applications from 1 April 2024, the Ministry of Justice describes two main routes for a foreign individual living abroad:
- an address document issued by the government of the buyer's nationality or country of residence, including an equivalent official document; or
- a notarised declaration proving the address plus a copy of a valid passport.
If the evidence is in a foreign language, a translation must accompany it.
The notarial route is more specific than simply bringing a utility bill. The Ministry describes a declaration in which the buyer states their name and address as true and signs it before a notary in their country of nationality or residence. A Japanese notary can be accepted only in specified circumstances where obtaining the normal foreign notarisation is impracticable.
Foreign individuals also need a Roman-letter name
For a foreign individual becoming the registered owner, the application generally includes the person's name in Roman letters and evidence supporting that spelling. This requirement also dates from 1 April 2024.
The point is administrative consistency: the registration record can carry a Romanised form linked to documentary evidence. There are limited exceptions in the Ministry's rules, so buyers with unusual passport/name circumstances should have the judicial scrivener confirm the correct treatment rather than guessing at a transliteration.
A closing checklist for an overseas buyer
Use this before funds are due, not on closing morning:
- Confirm the exact registered owner. Individual, couple, Japanese company or overseas company changes the evidence package.
- Confirm the registered overseas address. Make sure the address used in the contract, identification and registration evidence is consistent.
- Choose the address-proof route. Government-issued address evidence, or notarised statement plus passport where applicable.
- Prepare translations. Foreign-language registration evidence needs Japanese translations.
- Decide the domestic-contact position. Name a willing contact and collect their documents, or tell the scrivener early that no contact exists so the correct statement can be prepared.
- Check the Roman-letter spelling. Use the spelling supported by the buyer's documentary evidence.
- Send scans early. Let the judicial scrivener identify missing evidence before originals are couriered or money moves.
Example: a buyer living in France
Suppose a French resident buys a house in Nagano in their personal name and remains resident in France.
The ownership itself is permitted. For the registration, however, their file is not simply “passport + purchase contract.” The scrivener may need accepted evidence of the French address, a Japanese translation, the buyer's Roman-letter name evidence, and either the details/consent/evidence for a domestic contact or the prescribed statement that no domestic contact exists.
That is why “foreigners can buy property in Japan” and “what documents does a non-resident need at registration?” are two different questions. The first is an ownership rule; the second is a closing workflow.
How this fits with the 2026 address-change rule
Do not confuse this 2024 registration-document rule with the separate 1 April 2026 obligation to keep an owner's registered name and address updated.
If you later move, the 2026 regime can require an address-change registration within two years. An overseas move can also trigger the domestic-contact information requirement if the register does not already contain it.
Read our guide to Japan's 2026 address-change registration rule for that ongoing owner obligation.
Related rules for a non-resident buyer
Registration is only one part of the overseas-buying workflow. Depending on the transaction, a non-resident buyer should separately check:
- the FEFTA post-acquisition reporting rule;
- the practical constraints covered in Can Foreigners Buy Property in Japan?; and
- Japanese tax filing/withholding issues if the property later produces income, covered in our non-resident property tax guide.
None of those replaces the registration documents described here.
Official sources
Checked 16 August 2026.
- Japan Ministry of Justice, Applications for registrations concerning ownership made on or after 1 April 2024: domestic-contact information, Roman-letter names and related supporting evidence.
- Japan Ministry of Justice, Address certification information when a foreign resident or foreign corporation becomes the registered owner: accepted overseas address evidence, passport/notarial route and translation requirement.
This article explains published registration requirements for general information. Your judicial scrivener should confirm the documents for the particular buyer, property and registration application.
Frequently asked questions
Does an overseas owner of Japanese property need a domestic contact person in Japan?
For ownership-registration applications made from 1 April 2024, an owner whose address is overseas must provide domestic-contact information or state that there is no domestic contact. The contact may be an individual or a company, including a real-estate professional or judicial scrivener. The rule does not mean a foreign buyer must appoint a nominee owner or become resident in Japan.
What documents are needed if I name a domestic contact in Japan?
The Ministry of Justice requires information proving the domestic contact details, the contact's consent, and generally a seal certificate or an electronic signature and certificate. The exact evidence depends on whether the contact is an individual, a Japanese company or another type of entity, so the judicial scrivener handling the registration should confirm the package before closing.
Can I register Japanese property if I have no domestic contact?
Yes. The Ministry of Justice expressly allows an application to state that no domestic contact exists. In the ordinary case, a signed or sealed written statement to that effect is used as supporting information. This is different from leaving the domestic-contact field unanswered.
How does an overseas foreign buyer prove their address for Japanese title registration?
For applications from 1 April 2024, a foreign individual living abroad generally supplies an official address document issued by the government of their nationality or country of residence, or a notarized address statement together with a valid passport copy. Foreign-language documents must be accompanied by a translation.
Do foreign buyers need to register their name in Roman letters?
For ownership-registration applications from 1 April 2024, a foreign individual generally provides their name in Roman letters as application information and supplies evidence supporting that spelling. The Ministry of Justice lists limited exceptions, so the registration professional should confirm how the rule applies to the buyer's documents.
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