How To Order A Japan Property Registration Record In English

What the registration record contains

A registration record is the certified output of Japan's national property registry, maintained by the Ministry of Justice through regional Legal Affairs Bureaus (法務局). For a parcel of land it states the lot number (地番), registered category and area, the current owner's registered name and address, and the history of ownership transfers. For a building it states the house number (家屋番号), structure, floor area, and the same ownership chain.

Crucially, the record also discloses encumbrances: mortgages (抵当権), revolving mortgages, provisional registrations, seizure notices, and other rights registered against the property. A property that looks clean in a listing can carry a mortgage several times its asking price; the registration record is how you find out before you commit.

One detail that surprises many foreign buyers: land and buildings are registered separately in Japan. A house on a plot is two registrations (one for the land parcel, one for the structure), and they can even have different owners. Full due diligence on a house generally means pulling both records. Our guide on how to read a Japanese property registry walks through each section of the document once you have it.

The official routes

There are two main official ways to obtain a record, and both work well if you can operate in Japanese:

• In person at a Legal Affairs Bureau. Any bureau can issue a certified record for any property in Japan. You fill out a request form with the lot number or house number, pay a statutory fee, and receive the certificate on the spot. The forms, signage, and staff interaction are in Japanese, and you need to already know the lot number, because the registry is not searchable by street address.
• The official online services. The Ministry of Justice operates online channels, including the 登記情報提供サービス (Registry Information Provision Service), which lets registered users view registry information over the internet for a modest fee. It is a well-run system, but it is Japanese-only, and registration as an individual user has practical hurdles for people outside Japan: the sign-up flow, payment arrangements, and correspondence assume a Japanese address, a Japanese phone number, and Japanese-language navigation throughout.

Neither route is closed to foreigners in principle: the records are public regardless of who asks. The barriers are practical: language, location, and the need to identify the correct lot number before you can request anything at all.

Japan Property Research provides an English-language ordering service on top of this system: you identify the property on our map, and we retrieve the official record from the registry and deliver it to you. JPR is a private research platform, not the government registry; what you receive is the official document, obtained on your behalf. Here is the process from start to finish:

1. Create a free account. Sign up on Japan Property Research with just an email address. Ordering registration records does not require a paid plan.
2. Locate the parcel on the map. Search by street address or by lot number, then confirm the parcel on the map. This step solves the hardest part of the official process (converting an address into the registered lot number) visually, in English. If you are starting from a listing and only have an address, our guide on checking property ownership in Japan explains how to bridge that gap.
3. Choose the records you need. Request the land record, the building record, or both, at ¥1,500 per record. For a house purchase, ordering both is the normal choice, since land and building are registered separately.
4. Add optional extras if useful. An Ownership Matters extract (+¥500) isolates the ownership section of the registry for a focused view of the current owner and transfer history, and an official parcel map (+¥500) shows the registered parcel boundaries. Both add-ons are included at no extra charge on Pro and Team plans.
5. Receive the documents by email. Once the records are retrieved, they are delivered to your email and stored in your dashboard, so you can return to them later or share them with your agent, lawyer, or judicial scrivener.

The most common mistake at this stage is ordering only the land record for a property that has a building on it, or vice versa. The second most common is requesting the wrong parcel because the street address spans several lot numbers; taking an extra minute to confirm the parcel boundaries on the map prevents this.

What you actually need to provide is minimal: a property address or a lot number. Everything else (confirming the parcel, formatting the request, retrieving the certificate) happens inside the workflow.

Pricing is flat and per document:

• Land registration record: ¥1,500
• Building registration record: ¥1,500
• Ownership Matters extract: +¥500 (included on Pro and Team plans)
• Official parcel map: +¥500 (included on Pro and Team plans)

So a typical full order for a house (land record, building record, ownership extract, and parcel map) is ¥4,000 on a free account, or ¥3,000 on Pro or Team. Documents are delivered by email when they are ready and remain available in your dashboard.

A few honest caveats. The registration record reflects the registry as of the moment it is issued; registration of a recent sale can lag the actual transaction. The registered owner's name and address are also only as current as the owner's last filing; although since 2024 heirs are required to register inherited property, older records can still show a deceased or relocated owner. The record is one input into due diligence, not the whole of it: zoning, hazards, road access, and rebuildability all live outside the registry. Our Japan property due diligence checklist covers where the registration record fits among the other checks.

FAQ

Can foreigners order a Japanese property registration record? Yes. Registration records are public documents in Japan, and there is no nationality or residency requirement to request one. The practical barriers, such as Japanese-language forms and the domestic payment and contact requirements on the official online service, are exactly what an English ordering workflow removes.

Do I need to read Japanese to use the record? The record itself is issued in Japanese; there is no official English version. You do not need Japanese to order one through Japan Property Research, and our guide on reading a Japanese property registry explains each section so you can interpret the document yourself or brief a translator efficiently.

What is the difference between the registration record and the Ownership Matters extract? The full registration record contains every section of the registry for the property: the physical description, the complete ownership history, and all registered encumbrances such as mortgages. The Ownership Matters extract is a focused excerpt covering the ownership section, useful when your question is simply "who owns this and how did they get it."

How much does it cost? ¥1,500 per record (land and building are separate records), plus optional add-ons of ¥500 each for the Ownership Matters extract and the official parcel map. Both add-ons are included on Pro and Team plans. Creating an account is free.

Do I need the owner's permission to order a record? No. Japan's property registry is public by design: any person may request the registration record for any property, which is what makes independent ownership and lien checks possible before you ever contact a seller.

Related guides:

• What Is Touki In Japan
• How To Read A Japanese Property Registry
• How To Check Property Ownership In Japan
• Japan Property Due Diligence Checklist