Japanese property is unusually well documented. Zoning, permitted building size, road status, boundaries, structural era and title are all recorded, and most of it costs nothing to obtain.

The difficulty is that it is held in different offices, written in technical Japanese, and never offered unprompted. Municipal officers answer the question you asked, accurately and completely. They do not mention the thing you did not know to ask about.

These guides set out what to ask, where, and in what order.

Start here

• What you must verify yourself before buying. The full checklist, and which office answers each question.

The land

• The land you can never build on again. The two-metre road frontage rule, setback, and what changed in 2025.
• The land area in the listing is a historical record. Why registered and surveyed areas differ, and which one your contract uses.
• The land category can stop the sale entirely. When part of the plot is farmland, and why permission can block the transfer.
• Sometimes you buy the house and rent the ground it stands on. Ground rent, landowner consents, and old versus fixed-term leaseholds.
• The wall holding up the land is part of what you are buying. Approval records, weep holes, and walls that cost more than the house.
• Japan's hazard maps and what your broker must show you. Which hazards are disclosed before contract, and which are not.

The building

• The two rooms nobody opens during a viewing. What the underfloor and roof space reveal, and why nobody shows them.
• By the time it shows on the ceiling, the wood has been wet for a while. How leaks and damp develop out of sight, and where to look.
• The termite your five-year warranty does not cover. The species that arrives by air, and how warranties exclude it.
• Two dates decide how a house behaves in an earthquake. The 1981 and 2000 structural thresholds, and what the Kumamoto survey found.
• Buying an apartment means buying the building's finances. Repair reserves, arrears that pass to you, and the minutes to ask for.

The transaction

• Thirty pages, read aloud, in Japanese, before you sign. The pre-contract explanation, and how to get it early enough to translate.
• Buying a Japanese house without being in Japan. Each stage from search to keys, and the documents to start early.

The area

• Researching a Japanese neighbourhood from abroad. Stations, services, population trends, and what still needs a visit.

If you are earlier in the process, start with the full guide to buying property in Japan as a foreign buyer.