How To Check If A Japanese Property Has A Seizure

What 差押 and 仮差押 actually mean

A 差押 (seizure) follows from one of three tracks. A creditor can commence compulsory execution (強制執行) once they hold an enforceable title (債務名義, saimu meigi) — typically a court judgment, but also a court-approved settlement, a notarized instrument, or a judgment carrying provisional execution. Separately, a creditor holding an already-registered security interest, most often a mortgage, can foreclose on it directly (担保不動産競売) without a 債務名義 at all. And a tax authority reaches the same entry through its own delinquent-tax procedure (滞納処分) for unpaid taxes, such as property tax or income tax. The tracks lead to different sales — both creditor tracks are enforced through a court-run auction (競売, keibai), while a tax seizure is enforced through the tax authority's own administrative public sale (公売, koubai) — but in every case, enforcement has formally started against the property.

A 仮差押 (provisional seizure) is weaker and earlier-stage: a court order that preserves a creditor's position by freezing the property, which can be obtained even before the underlying lawsuit is filed, not only once one is already pending. It does not legally stop the owner from selling, and it does not by itself send the property to auction — but a sale made while it is active cannot be asserted against the creditor who filed it, so the owner cannot convey title free of the attachment, and a buyer who proceeds anyway risks losing out to later enforcement. It stays in effect until it is formally cancelled or the creditor converts it into full execution — winning the underlying case does not lift it automatically.

Both are distinct from a 仮登記 (kari touki, provisional registration), which reserves a private party's claim to a future right rather than enforcing a debt — see our guide on provisional registration if you find one of those instead.

Why it changes the transaction, not just the price

An active mortgage is routinely discharged at closing out of the sale proceeds, and a buyer rarely needs to think about it beyond confirming it happens. A seizure is different: it signals the owner cannot currently convey clean title, even if a sale contract itself is not blocked outright. Clearing it usually requires paying off the underlying debt, negotiating with the creditor or tax authority, or waiting for the case behind it to resolve — none of which is guaranteed to happen on your timeline, or at all.

If the seizure is not resolved, the property can proceed to a court auction (for a creditor's seizure) or a tax authority's administrative public sale (for a tax seizure) instead of a private sale. That is a materially different acquisition process — bidding through the court's or tax authority's own sale system rather than a negotiated purchase — and it is worth knowing early which situation you are actually in, rather than discovering it after you have spent time on due diligence for what you assumed was a normal private-sale listing.

Where it appears, and why it's easy to miss

Because a seizure restricts the owner's right to dispose of the property itself, it is recorded in 甲区 (the ownership section), not 乙区 where mortgages live. A record with a clean-looking 乙区 and no mortgage can still carry an active seizure sitting in 甲区, above or below the current owner's own entry. As with any other registry entry, an underline (下線) means it has been cancelled — an active seizure has no underline.

Here is a practical way to check before you move forward:

1. Order the full registration record and read all of 甲区, not just the current owner's line. A seizure sits in the ownership section alongside the owner, not in 乙区 with mortgages, so scanning only 乙区 for liens will miss it entirely.
2. For a house, check both the land and building records. A seizure can be registered against the land, the building, or both, and checking only one type can miss an active entry on the other.
3. Distinguish 差押 from 仮差押. A 差押 means enforcement has already started and the property can be heading toward a court auction or, for a tax seizure, a tax authority's public sale; a 仮差押 is an earlier freeze tied to a pending case. Either is active until cancelled, but they point to different stages of the same problem.
4. Confirm the entry is not underlined. An underlined 差押 or 仮差押 has already been cancelled. One without an underline is still active regardless of how old the filing date looks.
5. Ask the agent directly whether the sale can proceed as a private transaction. If a seizure is active, find out who holds the underlying claim, whether the owner intends to pay it off before closing, and whether the property is already scheduled for a court auction or tax public sale instead.
6. Bring in a judicial scrivener (司法書士) before you go further. An active seizure is not something to work around informally with the seller — it usually means a professional needs to confirm the debt, the release process, and whether the timeline you were told is realistic.

The most common mistake is treating "no mortgage in 乙区" as "no financial claims on this property" — a seizure lives in 甲区 and a clean 乙区 says nothing about it. The second is assuming a seizure will simply be cleared at closing the way a mortgage is; unlike a mortgage, there is no guarantee the owner can clear it on your timeline.

What the registry can and cannot tell you here:

• What it shows reliably: whether a 差押 or 仮差押 is registered, which section it is in, the date it was filed, and — depending on the entry — the creditor or authority behind it.
• What it does not show: how far along the underlying case or tax dispute is, whether the owner has a plan or the means to resolve it, or whether the property has already been scheduled for a court auction or tax public sale. Those require asking the agent or checking the case directly, not reading the registration record alone.
• How to order the record: On Japan Property Research, locate the property and order the land registration record for ¥1,500. If the property includes a house, order the building registration record as well, since land and buildings are separately registered and a seizure can appear on only one. The Ownership Matters extract (+¥500 per record type) shows only the current owner's name and address — it does not include 差押 or 仮差押 entries, so it is not a substitute for the full record when checking for a seizure. Both add-ons are included on Pro and Team plans.

None of this means a property with a seizure is automatically off the table — some are resolved routinely once a debt is paid, and heavily discounted listings sometimes carry one precisely because the seller needs to sell quickly. But it changes what kind of due diligence you are doing, and it is worth knowing before you get attached to a listing. Our Japan property due diligence checklist covers where this check fits alongside ownership, mortgages, and boundaries.

FAQ

What does 差押 mean on a Japanese property record? It means the property has been formally seized as part of a legal enforcement action — usually because an enforceable debt claim or unpaid tax went unresolved — and the owner cannot convey clean title until the seizure is released.

Is 仮差押 the same as 差押? No. 仮差押 is a provisional, earlier-stage freeze that can be obtained even before the underlying lawsuit is filed, to preserve a creditor's position — it stops the owner from conveying clean title, rather than blocking a sale outright, and stays in effect until it is formally cancelled or the creditor converts it into full execution (winning the case does not lift it automatically). 差押 means enforcement has already begun, moving the property toward a court auction (for a creditor's seizure) or a tax authority's public sale (for a tax seizure).

Does a seizure mean the property is going to a court auction? Not necessarily, but it can. A 差押 means enforcement has started, which can lead to a court auction (競売) for a creditor's seizure, or an administrative public sale (公売) for a tax seizure, if the underlying debt is not resolved first. It is worth asking directly whether that process has already begun.

How is a seizure different from a mortgage? A mortgage is a lien the owner voluntarily agreed to when they borrowed against the property. A seizure is imposed by a court or tax authority because of an unresolved debt, without the owner's agreement, and is generally a more serious signal about the transaction.

Can I still buy a property with an active seizure? It depends on whether the seizure can be released before or at closing. That is a question for the agent and a judicial scrivener (司法書士), not something to assume either way from the registration record alone.

Official sources

• Civil Execution Act (民事執行法) — governs compulsory execution and court auctions (競売) on real property.
• Civil Provisional Remedies Act (民事保全法) — governs provisional seizure (仮差押) orders and their effect.
• Real Property Registration Act (不動産登記法) — governs how rights, including seizures, are recorded on the registry.
• National Tax Collection Act (国税徴収法) — governs delinquent-tax seizure (滞納処分) and administrative public sales (公売).

Related guides:

• How To Read A Japanese Property Registration Record
• How To Check If A Japanese Property Has A Mortgage
• How To Check If A Japanese Property Has A Provisional Registration
• Japan Property Due Diligence Checklist
• How To Order A Japan Property Registration Record In English