Two-year registration deadline
Japan's Ministry of Justice introduced mandatory registration of changes to the address, personal name or corporate name of registered property owners on April 1, 2026. As a general rule, the registration must be filed within two years of the change. An owner who fails to comply without a legitimate reason may be subject to an administrative fine of up to ¥50,000. The change moves address updates from a procedure often deferred until a sale into an ongoing ownership obligation.
Earlier unregistered changes are also covered
The requirement also applies where an address or name changed before April 1, 2026 but the land registry was never updated. In those cases, the registration generally must be completed by March 31, 2028. The Ministry of Justice has also introduced a simplified notification mechanism known as Smart Change Registration, under which the Legal Affairs Bureau can later update information after confirming qualifying changes.
Particularly relevant to overseas owners
The rule is significant for people who purchase Japanese property and later move abroad, as well as foreign owners whose overseas address changes during a long holding period. A mismatch between the current address and the registered address can also create additional procedural steps when selling, inheriting or creating security interests. Overseas owners should therefore treat the address recorded in the Japanese property registry as an ongoing compliance matter rather than simply updating tax correspondence.