Japan to Allow Use of Unclaimed Land for Public Purposes

June 6, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's parliament enacted Wednesday legislation to allow land plots whose ownership is unknown to be used for public purposes, including for parks, event venues and parking lots, for up to 10 years.

The bill was approved by a majority vote at a plenary meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, with support from the ruling and opposition parties. The House of Representatives, the lower chamber, passed it in May.

Under the special measures law, set to come into force by June 2019, prefectural governors will be authorized to grant the right to use land plots with uncertain ownership to such entities as municipal governments, private companies and nonprofit organizations if the use of such land plots is confirmed to serve the public interest.

When the owner turns up and demands the return of the land, it must be restored to the original state and handed over to the owner after the right to use it expires. The right can be renewed if the owner raises no objection.

The special law will also simplify procedures for the central and local governments to forcibly acquire the right to use unclaimed land plots to carry out public works projects.

The land and transport committees of both chambers of parliament, where deliberations of the bill took place, adopted a supplementary resolution calling on the central government to consider a measure to promote the registration of inherited land plots in order to reduce unclaimed land.

The government plans to discuss such steps as making it obligatory to register inherited land and allowing the waiver of ownership rights. It aims to revise related systems by 2020.

According a private-sector study group led by former internal affairs minister Hiroya Masuda, unclaimed land across Japan was estimated to total about 4.1 million hectares in 2016, bigger than the southwestern major land mass of Kyushu. The figure is project to reach some 7.2 million hectares in 2040, equivalent to 90 pct of Hokkaido, the northern main island. Jiji Press