"Making it possible to sell inherited land that the state has taken over at up to a 90% discount off its assessed value (more precisely, up to about a 93% discount)" — a policy the Ministry of Finance set out in June 2026 has become a talking point. Behind this is the fact that land that has passed into state hands through inheritance and the like (national-treasury-reverted property) has not sold in even a single case, even when put up for general competitive bidding. To state the conclusion first: this kind of state-owned land can be bought even by ordinary people. However, it is all land that has a "reason it did not sell." This article organizes the specific discount mechanism, how to buy, points to watch when buying, and taxes, based on primary sources from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice.
What is happening (key points)
To advance the disposal of inherited land the state has taken over (national-treasury-reverted property), the Ministry of Finance is considering and implementing the following revisions.
In Material 1 "Assessment of inherited land reverted to the national treasury" of the 68th session of the Fiscal System Council, Subcommittee on National Property held on June 17, Reiwa 8, a policy was set out for unsold national-treasury-reverted land whereby it is first offered at a 30% discount off the assessed value, and if no buyer is found, lowered by 10% every three months[Ministry of Finance, 68th session material (in Japanese)]. The floor is 10% of the post-discount price — that is, it can be lowered to about 7% of the original assessed value (up to about a 93% discount). Rather than immediately cutting 90%, it is a mechanism that lowers the price in stages while confirming every three months that there is no demand.
At the 67th session of the same subcommittee held on February 27, Reiwa 8, a policy was set out to make the disposal procedures for national-treasury-reverted land more flexible[Ministry of Finance, 67th session material (in Japanese)]. Specifically, where ① the only buyer is the owner of adjacent land, or ② there is only one buyer and the planned price is ¥1 million or less, the land can be sold by discretionary contract without going through bidding. At the same time, an as-is sale — selling without surveying, confirming boundaries, or investigating underground buried objects — is also introduced, compressing the time and cost until disposal.
* These are all revisions of the state's property disposal rules, and the implementation timing and operational details will be finalized in future announcements. This article is based on policies and materials confirmed as of July 2026.
Why does the state own such land?
It may seem exceptional for the state to own an individual's land, but land passes into state hands through the following three routes around inheritance.
| Route | What kind of land |
|---|---|
| No heirs (absence of heirs) | Property that ultimately reverted to the national treasury because the deceased had no heirs |
| Payment of inheritance tax in kind | Land paid in kind because inheritance tax could not be paid in cash, so it was paid with the land itself |
| System for reverting inherited land to the national treasury | Started in April 2023. Land that passed to the state under a system where you pay a contribution and have the state take over unwanted inherited land[Ministry of Justice (in Japanese)] |
The third system in particular tends to collect land in the regions with no use, and its use is increasing year by year. According to the Ministry of Justice's statistics, as of May 31, 2026 (Reiwa 8), there were 5,545 applications and 2,762 cases of reversion to the national treasury (preliminary figures)[Ministry of Justice statistics (in Japanese)]. Of these, about 1,600 cases of land taken over by the Finance Bureaus and the like as residential land, etc. existed as of the end of March 2026, but even when put up for general competitive bidding, the number that led to a sale was zero[Ministry of Finance, 68th session material (in Japanese)]. This latest expansion of discounts can be called a revision to create an exit for land that "was taken over but does not sell."
Why and how does it discount by up to 93%?
State-owned land is originally sold at an assessed value based on real estate appraisals and the like, and is not sold cheap. The reason it nonetheless takes the plunge into a major discount is that much of the target is "negative property (fu-dosan)" that has gone unsold in the market.
- Located in the regions or suburbs, with few buyers to begin with
- Hard-to-use land such as land that does not front a road, has an irregular shape, or is wilderness or forest
- If the state keeps holding it, management costs (grass cutting, boundary management, measures against illegal dumping, etc.) keep arising as a burden on the public
- It also aligns with the policy aim of reducing owner-unknown land and unmanaged land
According to the Ministry of Finance's material, the discount is carried out in two stages[Ministry of Finance, Material 1 (PDF) (in Japanese)]. First, the price reflects the conditions of an "as-is sale" — where there is no surveying or investigation of underground buried objects, and the buyer takes on risks such as unclear boundaries — bringing it to a standard 30% discount. If a buyer still does not appear, it is lowered by 10% every three months (based on the post-discount price).
- Reflecting the as-is sale conditions, first posted on the Finance Bureau's website at a 30% discount of ¥700,000
- If no buyer appears after three months, ¥630,000 (a 10% reduction from ¥700,000)
- Thereafter lowered by ¥70,000 every three months: ¥560,000 → ¥490,000 → ¥420,000 → …
- The floor is ¥70,000 (10% of the post-discount price = about 7% of the original assessed value). Reaching this point takes a little over two years from posting, by calculation
In other words, it is not "a fire sale suddenly at a 90% discount," but a mechanism that lowers the price in stages while confirming there is no demand. At the same time, discretionary contracts are made available too, aiming to move stagnant land.
Can ordinary people buy it? How to buy
You can buy it. State-owned property (ordinary property) can, in principle, be considered for purchase by anyone. The main ways to find and buy it are as follows[Ministry of Finance, information on the sale of national property (in Japanese)].
- Find a property: Check the Ministry of Finance's information on the sale of national property, the national property sale information site, and the publicly notified properties of the Finance Bureau / Finance Office with jurisdiction over your area of residence.
- Check the site and the conditions: Be sure to investigate for yourself road frontage, boundaries, water and sewerage, use zoning, whether rebuilding is possible, and so on. The cheaper the land, the more important this is.
- Bid or apply: There are mainly two ways it is sold. General competitive bidding (the person who bids the highest, at or above the planned price set by the state, wins) and first-come-first-served sale (you can buy at the publicly notified price in order of application).
- Contract and payment: After winning the bid or applying, you conclude a sale contract, pay the price, and take delivery.
Under the Ministry of Finance's policy, national-treasury-reverted land will be posted with a reference price on the website of the Finance Bureau, etc., and for three months, acquisition requests from local governments and purchase requests from the general public will be accepted together. Where the only buyer is the owner of adjacent land, or there is only one buyer and the planned price is ¥1 million or less, it can be purchased by discretionary contract without bidding. Especially for a person whose neighboring land has become national-treasury-reverted land, the chance to cheaply buy more land expands.
* Not all state-owned land is subject to the discount. The target of the staged discount is mainly unsold national-treasury-reverted property.
Before jumping at the cheapness: doubt the reason it did not sell
A 90% discount is attractive, but there is a reason it did not sell. To avoid regret after buying, check the following points.
Cases worth targeting
- Can be used integrally with your own land as adjacent land
- A limited use — such as a materials yard, parking lot, or home vegetable garden — is fine
- Has road frontage and infrastructure, so rebuilding or use is realistic
Cases that require caution
- No road frontage, so a building cannot be built (rebuilding not permitted)
- Hard to use, being in an urbanization control area, wilderness, or forest
- Boundaries unclear, no water and sewerage, remote location, so it cannot be fully managed
Just holding land, fixed asset tax arises every year, and the effort and cost of management such as grass cutting and measures against illegal dumping also arise. Much of this land is also hard to exit (resell), and there is a risk that "I bought it cheap" turns into "I am saddled with negative property I cannot let go of." For how fixed asset tax works, see Calculating fixed asset tax.
Taxes when buying and when letting go
Even if you can buy cheap thanks to the discount, taxes arise separately. Let's organize them for the buyer's side and the letting-go side.
| Position | Money that arises | Point |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer's side | Real estate acquisition tax | Once at the time of acquisition. In principle "fixed asset tax assessed value × tax rate." The basis is the assessed value, not the price you paid |
| Registration and license tax | Arises on the registration of ownership | |
| Fixed asset tax | Arises every year. Even if you buy cheap, it is taxed on the assessed-value basis | |
| Letting-go side | Contribution for reverting inherited land to the national treasury | The side having the state take it over needs a contribution of, in principle, ¥200,000 or more (for residential land, fields, and forest, calculated by area, etc.)[Ministry of Justice (in Japanese)] |
* "Buy cheap = cheap fixed asset tax too" is not the case. Fixed asset tax and real estate acquisition tax are calculated based on the fixed asset tax assessed value, not the purchase price. For taxes around inheritance, also refer to The basic deduction and tax-saving measures for inheritance tax.
The reality when viewed as investment or use
A "90% discount" has a sense of bargain, but the size of the discount rate and the appeal as an investment are separate things. Much of the discounted land is hard to generate income from and hard to resell. Rather than an investment where you expect a yield, it is realistic to think of it as buying more of adjacent land, use for a specific purpose, or an acquisition premised on ties to the local community. If you are considering it as a set with a vacant house or an old house, also keep in mind the ¥30 million special deduction for vacant houses and the ¥30 million special deduction on the sale of your own home.
FAQ
Can the land the state sells be bought even by an ordinary individual?
Yes. State-owned property (ordinary property) can, in principle, be considered for purchase by anyone, and is acquired through general competitive bidding (winning with the highest bid at or above the planned price) or first-come-first-served sale where you apply at the publicly notified price. You can find it in the Ministry of Finance's information on the sale of national property and the publicly notified properties of each Finance Bureau.
Can you really buy it at a 90% discount?
The Ministry of Finance has set out a policy for unsold national-treasury-reverted inherited land whereby it is first offered at a 30% discount off the assessed value, and if no buyer is found, lowered by 10% every three months, so that it can be lowered to at most about 7% of the original assessed value (about a 93% discount) (Subcommittee on National Property, June, Reiwa 8). Not all properties suddenly become a 90% discount; it is a mechanism that lowers the price in stages while confirming there is no demand. The implementation timing and operational details will be finalized in future announcements.
Where can I find properties?
You can check the Ministry of Finance's "information on the sale of national property," the "national property sale information site," and the currently notified properties of the Finance Bureau / Finance Office with jurisdiction over your area. For any property that interests you, be sure to investigate the site, rights, and infrastructure for yourself.
If I can buy it cheap, is the fixed asset tax cheap too?
No. Fixed asset tax and real estate acquisition tax are calculated based on the fixed asset tax assessed value, not the purchase price. Even if you can buy cheap thanks to the discount, note that the annual fixed asset tax and management costs still arise.
What are the risks of buying cheap land?
Unsold land tends to carry reasons such as: no road frontage so a building cannot be built (rebuilding not permitted), being hard to use in an urbanization control area or as wilderness or forest, or being remote so it cannot be fully managed. The exit (resale) is also difficult, so consider it only after forming a prospect for use and management.
Summary
Reference links (sources)
This article is based on the following official materials (neutral, primary sources). Because the policy revisions include content at the consideration or planning stage, please check the latest announcements before applying or purchasing.
- Ministry of Finance, Fiscal System Council, 68th session of the Subcommittee on National Property (June 17, Reiwa 8) materials (in Japanese) / Material 1 "Assessment of inherited land reverted to the national treasury" (PDF) (in Japanese)
- Ministry of Finance, 67th session of the Subcommittee on National Property (February 27, Reiwa 8) materials (in Japanese)
- Ministry of Finance, information on the sale of national property (in Japanese)
- National property sale information site (in Japanese)
- Ministry of Justice, overview of the system for reverting inherited land to the national treasury (in Japanese)
- Ministry of Justice, statistics on the system for reverting inherited land to the national treasury (applications and reversions) (in Japanese)
- Government Public Relations Online, the "system for reverting inherited land to the national treasury" for when you want to let go of inherited land (in Japanese)
* This article is general information provision, not individual tax or real estate advice. For decisions on purchase or application, please confirm with a Finance Bureau or a professional.