Japan plans to make new property owners disclose their nationality to restrict sales to foreign nationals, as Tokyo retreats from its short-lived immigration experiment.
New Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the rules were aimed at addressing foreign ownership of properties near security-critical facilities, such as military bases and nuclear plants. Japan has long maintained a near-zero immigration policy, but its aging labor force led earlier governments to approve reforms bringing in some migrant workers. Those moves have been unpopular, with migrants looming large in the public imagination despite making up just 3% of the population.
Takaichi may be tempted to appease anti-immigrant sentiment, and “squander [Japan’s] best chance at securing the workforce it needs,” experts argued in Foreign Affairs.