China-linked buyers accounted for the largest portion of non-Japanese individuals and entities that acquired land and structures near areas considered significant in terms of Japan’s national security in fiscal 2023, a government survey showed Monday.
In the survey, the government said there were no cases of disruptive behavior, such as radio jamming, from the acquired sites targeting the areas with security importance.
Under Japan’s law to regulate the use of real estate with security significance, remote islands and areas within 1 kilometer of important sites such as Self-Defense Forces bases and nuclear plants are designated as “monitored areas” or “special monitored areas.” A total of 583 locations are designated as such.
The latest survey covered 399 areas added to the list by fiscal 2023.
According to the survey, there were 16,862 transactions of land and structures near such areas in the year that ended in March. Non-Japanese individuals and entities were involved in 371 transactions, accounting for 2.2% of the total.
Of the non-Japanese buyers, 54.7% were from China, 13.2% from South Korea and 12.4% from Taiwan.
Of the acquisitions linked to foreign-affiliated individuals and entities in 20 prefectures, 104 were near the Defense Ministry’s Ichigaya main office in Tokyo, and 39 were near the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Ground Materiel Control Command also in the capital.
Many acquisitions took place in urban areas. Around 80% of transactions were of condominiums, according to the Cabinet Office.
The survey was unveiled at Monday’s meeting of the Cabinet Office’s Council on the Use of Real Estate.
At the meeting, the council proposed changing some security area designations, such as upgrading the Air Self-Defense Force’s Hofu Kita base from a monitored area to a special monitored area. The air base in the city of Hofu in Yamaguchi Prefecture houses a unit of the ASDF’s Space Operations Group.
