There are no restrictions against foreigners purchasing and holding land in Japan.
However, with recent disputes over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands igniting land ownership debates, many seemingly ordinary purchases by foreign capital are now under media scrutiny. This includes the purchase of forests in Hokkaido and the purchase of resort properties by a Korean group near a military base in Nagasaki.
Prime Minster Kan has recently started to raise the point of restricting land ownership in order to protect national interests.
The following is a translation of an article from the Asahi Shimbun, October 26th 2010.
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