How to Pay for a Japanese Property From Abroad

You pay for a Japanese property from abroad by wiring the money over and settling up, either in person or through someone acting for you. There's no escrow here. A deposit goes across when you sign, the rest lands on the day ownership transfers, and a judicial scrivener registers the title once the seller has the money. Since April 2026 there's also a short report you file with the Bank of Japan within twenty days.

None of it is hard once you know the order things happen in. The catch is that almost none of it works the way an American buyer expects. So here's the whole thing.

The short version

• No escrow. The money moves by direct bank transfer.

• You make two payments: a deposit of five to ten percent when you sign, and the balance at settlement.

• You almost certainly won't have a Japanese bank account, so you'll use one of two workarounds.

• Settlement happens at a bank, with a judicial scrivener there to register the title. The contract doesn't make you the owner. The registration does.

• Since April 2026, you file a Bank of Japan report within twenty days of buying.

• 
  

There's no escrow in Japan

In the US you hand your money to a neutral third party who holds it until closing. Japan doesn't do that. The money goes straight to the seller, or into an account that pays the seller on the day, and you're relying on the process and the people in the room instead of an escrow company.

That makes timing matter more than you'd think. You don't become the owner when you sign. You become the owner when your name goes into the property register at the Legal Affairs Bureau, which the scrivener files within a few days of settlement. Pay before that point and all you're holding is a promise.

The two payments you'll make

First, the deposit. Usually five to ten percent of the price, paid when you sign the purchase agreement. It counts toward the total, but if you back out, you generally don't get it back.

Then the balance, on settlement day. The scrivener checks the paperwork, the money reaches the seller, the title transfer is filed, and the keys are yours. From overseas, both payments leave your account as an international transfer to a Japanese account, and that transfer can take anywhere from two days to a week to clear. Build that into your timeline so you're not waiting on a wire the morning of settlement.

The bank account problem, and two ways around it

Here's the part most guides skip. The normal way to pay the balance is a domestic bank transfer on settlement day, and to do that you need a Japanese bank account. Living abroad, you usually can't open one without a residence card and an address in Japan.

Two workarounds are standard.

The first is the agency's trust account. Plenty of agencies that handle foreign buyers will let you wire your funds into an account they hold, ahead of the settlement date, and release it to the seller on the day. It's the cleanest way to take the risk of a slow international wire off the table.

The second is power of attorney. You appoint someone in Japan, often the scrivener or your agent, to sign and settle for you. You send the money in advance, they complete the payment and the registration, and you never have to be in the room. A lot of overseas buyers do it this way.

How to pay for a Japanese property from abroad: wire vs Wise

For getting your money out of your home currency and into yen, services like Wise or Revolut are common, and usually cheaper than what your bank charges to convert.

For the settlement payment itself, the scrivener often wants a plain bank wire, because it's easier to check against money-laundering rules. One thing that trips people up: the name sending the money, your name as the buyer, and the name on the contract should all match. A wire from a differently named account can get held for review on the exact day you need it to clear.

Start the transfer two to three weeks before settlement. And know about one threshold: any payment between a resident and a non-resident over thirty million yen has to be reported to the Bank of Japan. Your receiving bank or the seller's side normally files that one, not you, but it's why a big incoming wire draws extra questions.

The 2026 report you can't skip: FEFTA Form 22

This one is new, and a lot of buyers haven't heard of it. Since April 1, 2026, every non-resident who buys real estate in Japan has to file a form, known as FEFTA Form 22, with the Bank of Japan, addressed to the Ministry of Finance, within twenty days of the purchase.

It covers every purchase now, including a house you plan to live in. The old exemption for residential buyers is gone. It applies even if the price was zero.

The form asks for the basics: property type, location, size, the date you bought, and the price. It's a report, not a request for permission, so no one can block your purchase with it. But skip it and you create problems for yourself down the line. Your agent or scrivener can file it for you, and that's how most people handle it.

Two things non-residents forget

A tax representative. If you live outside Japan, you have to name someone with a Japanese address to receive your annual property tax bill. Most buyers use their scrivener or agent.

Withholding, if your seller lives abroad. Buy from a seller who's also a non-resident and you may have to hold back 10.21 percent of the price and send it to the tax office by the tenth of the following month. There's an exemption that covers most akiya, though: if you're an individual, the price is a hundred million yen or under, and you're buying the place to live in yourself or to house family, the withholding doesn't apply. It only kicks in when you're buying to rent the place out, even if the house is cheap. Either way it's your job as the buyer, not the seller's, which is what catches people off guard.

Paying for an akiya is a little different

Everything above assumes a city agency that's used to foreign buyers. An akiya is usually the opposite: a cheap house out in the countryside, sold through a small local office or straight from the owner.

A quick word on akiya banks, since the name confuses people. The municipal vacant-house banks, the actual "akiya banks," are wrapped in regulation and carry surprisingly few listings, partly because a house has to be in good enough condition to even get registered on one. Most of what you find online doesn't come from a subsidy-linked akiya bank at all. It comes from ordinary property portals. So don't assume the place you're looking at comes with the akiya-bank framework, or its subsidies, attached. Usually it doesn't.

That changes how you pay. A small rural office may not run a trust account, so the wire-in-advance route might not be on offer. The seller may never have taken an international payment and won't know how. And the cheaper the house, the more the fixed cost of wiring and filing eats into the bargain. The move is to settle the payment question before you sign, not after. Ask the office straight out how a foreign buyer is meant to pay, and whether they've done it before. The answer tells you a lot about how the rest of it will go.

FAQ

Can I buy a Japanese property without a Japanese bank account? Yes, and most overseas buyers do. You either wire into the agency's trust account or have someone in Japan settle on your behalf.

Can I use Wise to pay for a house in Japan? For moving your money into Japan, often yes. For the final payment at settlement, the scrivener may want a direct bank wire to satisfy money-laundering checks. Ask your agent before the day.

Do I have to be in Japan to buy? No. You can do the whole thing from abroad by giving power of attorney to someone in Japan, usually your scrivener or agent.

How long does a transfer to Japan take? Plan for two days to a week to clear, and start two to three weeks before settlement so you're not cutting it close.

What is FEFTA Form 22? It's the Bank of Japan report every non-resident files within twenty days of buying property in Japan. It lists the property type, location, size, date, and price, it's been required since April 2026, and it doesn't affect your right to buy.

Not sure an akiya is the right buy in the first place? Start with the free decision tool, Should You Buy an Akiya? When you're ready for the full process, The Akiya Guide takes you through every step, from the first offer to the day your name lands on the register.