Japan eyes municipalities’ role in using idle land plots

August 16, 2017

TOKYO- In a bid to encourage the use of idle land plots, Japan's land ministry plans to create a program allowing municipalities to serve as a matchmaker between property owners and tenants.

The ministry plans to apply the program to land in central commercial districts in local cities and suburban residential areas, where land prices tend to be low, ministry officials said.

According to the ministry's idea, tenants would use vacant land plots upon their owners' consent.

The ministry plans to study details to put the envisioned program in place in the fiscal year from April next year, the officials said.

Real estate agents are not actively engaged in land transactions in areas where land prices, and commissions from transactions too, are cheap. To break this impasse, cities, towns and villages would act to make idle land plots work, in place of real estate agents.

As part of the program, tax relief measures will be also studied, the officials said.

The ministry assumes the program can be used to construct open spaces, parks, local communication centers and small sundries shops, for example, they said.Jiji Press