Japan Considers Limiting Foreign Land Ownership
The Yomiuri reveals that Japan basically has no laws in place that can prevent foreign entities from buying up land around self-defense force bases and other facilities that are vital to national security:
The Alien Land Law of 1925 authorizes the government to regulate land acquisition in areas important to the defense of the nation. However, the government ordinance that designated specific areas as subject to such restrictions was abolished just after the end of World War II, rendering the law effectively toothless.
“Issues may include how to differentiate between land important to national security and, for example, land in [Tokyo's] Ginza that can be bought by [foreign entities],” the prime minister told the committee.
“Another issue is how the Alien Land Law could be brought into play. I want these matters studied,” Kan said.
Objections to domestic land purchases by non-Japanese have been raised following a South Korean citizen’s purchase of a hotel neighboring a Self-Defense Forces facility in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture.
Critics have said such purchases could pose problems for national defense.
However, imposing restrictions on such deals is seen as problematic because of potential clashes with the Constitution, which guarantees all individuals and groups the right to own assets, and the potential to discourage investment from overseas.
Some Korean nationalists claim the island of Tsushima as part of Korea, which makes the issue of buying land around the SDF base on that island particularly sensitive. Although it seems unlikely that the Korean owners of the resort hotels near the base would be capable of harming the national defense of Japan, there probably should be some legal mechanism in place to designate and protect areas that require some extra security.
Classic video clip: A visit to a shrine in Tsushima
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