Renting Out Japanese Property: Yield, Tenants, Costs and Tax

This article is part of the Zagdim wiki series on buying property in Japan. It sets out what to understand before renting out a home in Japan: how rental yield is calculated, who rents, vacancy and differences between cities, short-term rental rules, costs and tax. It is written for international readers who already own, or are considering buying, an apartment in Japan to let.

In Japanese property advertisements, the rental yield (利回り, riyawari) is, in principle, expected annual rental income divided by the acquisition price, a figure before any costs are deducted. As of September 2026, Japan’s official statistics do not publish a rental yield for Tokyo, Osaka or Fukuoka.

How much a home actually leaves you depends on four further things: where tenants come from, how long the home may stand empty, what you must pay each month and each year, and how rental income is taxed in Japan. The sections below take them in turn, and each links to a detailed article.

Six Key Points

1. The yield in an advertisement is a gross figure: annual rent divided by purchase price, with no costs deducted. Official statistics publish no yield by city.
2. The national vacancy rate of 13.8% is not a rental vacancy rate. Estimated from official statistics, about 18.6% of rental homes nationwide stand empty, which is only a rough indicator.
3. Rents, vacancy and land prices differ widely between cities, and rising land prices do not mean rents rise in step.
4. Minpaku (民泊, short-term lodging in a home) is capped at 180 days a year, and local ordinances can shorten that further. Osaka city has stopped accepting new applications for special-zone minpaku, and Toshima ward’s area and period limits take effect on Dec 16, 2026.
5. Beyond the gross yield there are management fees, repair reserves, taxes, management and letting fees, restoration after a tenant leaves, vacancy and exchange rates.
6. For owners living overseas, rent is taxed in Japan: when the tenant is a company or similar, 20.42% is withheld at payment, and the owner must in principle still file a return through a tax representative.

How Is the “Rental Yield” in an Advertisement Calculated?

The rental yield in an advertisement is a home’s expected annual rental income divided by its acquisition price, before any costs are deducted. Japan’s industry code for real estate advertising (不動産の表示に関する公正競争規約) requires that when this ratio is shown, three things are stated with it: that it is the ratio of expected annual rental income to the acquisition price; that the expected rent may not actually be received; and that it is a figure before taxes and the costs of keeping the property. The code is a self-regulatory standard for the industry, approved by the Japan Fair Trade Commission and the Consumer Affairs Agency. It governs how businesses advertise; it is not a legal definition of yield.

A figure that is simply rent divided by price, with no costs taken out, is called the gross yield (表面利回り). The net return after deducting management fees, repair reserves, taxes and similar costs is called the net yield (実質利回り). As of September 2026, official documents give no uniform method for the net yield, and each firm deducts different items. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) guideline for master-lease businesses gives, as an example of exaggerated advertising, showing a yield without explaining whether it is gross or net.

Official statistics also provide no yield by city. The published land prices give only land prices, the real estate price index gives only an index of prices, and the Housing and Land Survey (住宅・土地統計調査) gives only rents and household counts. Dividing an average rent by some average home price does not give an official yield. City yields on the market come from private websites, agents or research firms.

When you see a yield percentage, first ask:

• Is it a gross or a net yield? If net, which costs were deducted?
• Is the rent in the numerator the actual rent from a current tenancy, or an expected rent?
• Does the acquisition price in the denominator include the agent’s fee and taxes paid on purchase?

Details: “How to Read Rental Yields in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka: More Than Comparing Gross Percentages”; “Costs Behind Japanese Rental Yield: Management Fees, Repair Reserves, Vacancy and Exchange Rates”.

Who Rents Homes in Japan?

Japan’s rental market is mainly privately owned rental housing. Tenants include single-person households, foreign residents and international students, and also companies that rent homes for their employees. As of Oct 1, 2025, 17,427,000 ordinary households nationwide lived in privately owned rental housing, 30.9% of ordinary households living in housing, while 60.7% lived in homes they own.

The share of single-person households is rising. In 2025, single-person households (単独世帯) made up 41.4% of ordinary households nationwide, up from 38.0% in 2020. Cities are higher: Osaka city publishes 58.7%, and estimates from census figures give about 56.2% for Tokyo’s 23 wards and about 54.5% for Fukuoka city. These shares include people who live in homes they own. As of September 2026, official statistics do not publish what share of privately owned rental households are single-person households, so the figures cannot be used to estimate how many tenants are single.

When a company rents an ordinary home for its employees, official statistics class it as employer-provided housing (給与住宅, kyuyo jutaku), not privately owned rental housing. As of Oct 1, 2023, there were 1,302,000 employer-provided homes, 2.3% of occupied homes, but this category also includes Japanese company dormitories and public-servant housing, regardless of nationality. As of September 2026, official statistics do not publish how many expatriates rent homes in Japan.

Foreign residents and international students are both at record numbers. At the end of 2025 there were 4,125,395 foreign residents, passing 4 million for the first time, of whom 801,438 were in Tokyo, 375,319 in Osaka prefecture and 125,501 in Fukuoka prefecture (excluding short-term stays such as tourism). As of May 1, 2025, there were 408,069 international students, of whom 21.9% lived in student dormitories provided by schools and similar bodies, and the other 78.1% lived in private dormitories, apartments and similar housing. That category includes private student dormitories and shared lodging, so it does not equal renting a whole ordinary apartment.

What this means for an owner: these figures show who is in the rental market, but they cannot tell you who will rent a particular home. Whether the tenant is a company or an individual renting to live in the home also affects whether tax must be withheld from the rent (see “Is Rental Income Taxed in Japan?” below).

Details: “Types of Tenants in Japan: Local Residents, Students, Expatriates and Short-Term Demand”.

Japan Has Many Vacant Homes. Will a Rental Stand Empty?

“The 13.8% vacancy rate” is the share of all vacant homes in the national housing stock. It is not a rental vacancy rate. As of Oct 1, 2023, Japan had 9,002,000 vacant homes and a vacancy rate of 13.8%, both record highs, and the figure includes every kind of empty home: homes empty while being let or sold, holiday homes and others.

Of these, vacant homes held for rent (賃貸用の空き家, chintai-yo no akiya) number 4,435,800, which is 49.3% of vacant homes; among vacant homes in apartment buildings and similar collective housing, 78.5% are held for rent. No official “rental vacancy rate” is published. Estimated from official household counts, vacant rental homes as a share of “rented homes plus vacant rental homes” come to about 18.6% nationwide.

This estimate is only a rough indicator: the denominator includes public housing and company dormitories, and the vacant-rental count does not distinguish homes being actively marketed from homes that have been hard to let for a long time. New rental homes are still entering the market: in 2025, nationwide starts of rental homes built for letting (貸家, kashiya) were 324,991, down 5.0% from the year before and the third consecutive annual fall; in August 2026 alone, starts were 28,309, up 6.5% from the same month a year earlier and the fifth consecutive monthly rise.

What this means for an owner: statistics cannot tell you how long a particular home will stand empty. When estimating a yield, allow for months it may be empty. During vacancy there is no rent, but the management fee, repair reserve and fixed asset tax are still paid by the owner.

Details: “Costs Behind Japanese Rental Yield: Management Fees, Repair Reserves, Vacancy and Exchange Rates”.

How Do the Rental Markets of Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka Differ?

Rents, vacancy, land prices and household make-up differ across the three cities, and comparing only the yield percentages in advertisements hides these differences. The table lists the items in the official statistics that can be compared directly. Figures marked ※ are estimated from official statistics and are not published official ratios.

The monthly rent in the table is the average rent that residents report they are currently paying. It excludes common-area and management fees and includes households that pay JPY 0 in rent. It covers old wooden homes and homes of all sizes. It is not the asking rent for a new letting, and it cannot be divided by an average home price to get a yield. The share of vacant rental homes is calculated as vacant rental homes divided by “rented homes plus vacant rental homes”. The change in land prices is the change in residential land prices, not apartment sale prices or rent. In Osaka city the number of vacant homes rose from 2018, but the total housing stock rose by more, so the vacancy rate fell by 1.0 percentage point.

Rents under existing tenancies are also moving. In August 2026, the private rent index for Tokyo’s 23-ward area was up 2.0% from a year earlier (mid-month preliminary figure), and nationwide it was up 0.7%. This index reflects the average change across all existing tenancies and is not the going rate for new lettings. On population, among moves within Japan in 2025, only seven prefectures had more people moving in than out: Tokyo’s net inflow of 65,219 people was the largest but narrowed from the year before; Osaka prefecture’s was 15,667; and Fukuoka prefecture’s was 5,136, widened from the year before. In Tokyo, 44.9% of households live in homes they own, the lowest in the country, against 53.1% in Osaka prefecture and 52.3% in Fukuoka prefecture (2025).

What this means for an owner: when purchase prices rise and rents do not rise by as much, the gross yield calculated with the same formula falls. When comparing cities, look at rents, vacancy and purchase prices separately first, then return to the specific home you own or are considering and examine its actual rent and costs.

Details: “How to Read Rental Yields in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka: More Than Comparing Gross Percentages”.

Can You Switch to Short-Term Rental or Minpaku?

Yes, but there are three routes, each with its own requirements: minpaku notified under the Private Lodging Business Act (住宅宿泊事業法), capped at 180 days a year; obtaining a hotel and inn business license (旅館業許可); or running special-zone minpaku in a National Strategic Special Zone. If you switch to monthly letting, you need to see whether it counts as an ordinary lease; the test is described under “Monthly Lets” below.

Private lodging business (minpaku): Under the Private Lodging Business Act (住宅宿泊事業法, in force from Jun 15, 2018), each home is notified separately to the prefecture or equivalent authority, no later than the day before operations begin, and the number of days guests may stay in a year is capped at 180. This is a ceiling, not a guarantee that every home can operate that many days: prefectures and similar authorities can use ordinances to designate areas and limit the operating period. Shinjuku ward, Chuo ward and some others also require explaining the plan to neighbors seven days before notification, so the real preparation period is much longer than one day.

The home must qualify as a “residence”: It must have a kitchen, bath, toilet and washing facilities; not be used for another business; and be a base where someone lives, or be on the market for letting or sale, or be used at least once a year by its owner, tenant or sub-tenant. A newly built investment apartment that no one has ever lived in and that is used only for minpaku is not a home that is available for living at any time. Even so, a home cannot be ruled out merely because it is new; the judgment is made on the actual circumstances as a whole.

Apartments depend on the building rules: The notification must attach the building rules to show they do not prohibit minpaku; where the rules are silent, the owner must show that the management association does not intend to prohibit it. MLIT’s model standard management rules offer both a “permitted” and a “prohibited” wording, and what applies is the rules and usage regulations of your own building.

When the owner is not present: If the owner is absent during guests’ stays, or the property has more than five rooms, the owner must in principle entrust management to a housing accommodation management business (住宅宿泊管理業者) registered with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. In addition, Kyoto city and Toshima ward require an operator with no address in Japan to appoint, in principle for each home, a representative who lives in Japan.

Beyond 180 days, hotel and inn business, and special-zone minpaku: Letting people stay for more than 180 days takes the activity outside the private lodging business, and a hotel and inn business license may be required. Running a hotel and inn business without a license is punishable by imprisonment (拘禁刑) of up to six months, or a fine of up to JPY 1,000,000, or both. Special-zone minpaku can only be run in a National Strategic Special Zone, in an area where the zone plan provides for this business. Each stay must be at least the minimum number of days set by the local ordinance (set within a range of three to ten days), rooms must in principle be at least 25 square meters, and the law sets no 180-day cap. Osaka city stopped accepting new special-zone minpaku applications from May 29, 2026.

Monthly lets: The working test between hotel and inn business and a lease is, in principle, one month; a service of less than one month is basically judged to be a hotel and inn business. One month or more is not automatically a lease: Chuo ward in Tokyo provides that even with a stay of one month or more, it is still a hotel and inn business if the home is not openly offered on the premise of a month or longer, or if stays are repeatedly ended before one month.

Local ordinance restrictions vary widely. A few examples:

Actual operating figures are also worth knowing. As of Sep 15, 2026, there were 43,037 homes with minpaku notifications nationwide; since the system began, 67,932 notifications have been made cumulatively, of which 24,895 have been withdrawn. In 2025 there were 42,683,301 foreign visitors to Japan, a record high; this counts arrivals and does not equal demand for minpaku stays.

**Example: Ms. Chan, living in Hong Kong**

>

Ms. Chan is considering buying a newly built apartment in Chuo ward, Tokyo, not to live in but to use entirely for minpaku. The home must first meet the “residence” condition: a newly built investment apartment that no one has ever lived in and that is used only for minpaku is not a home the owner can live in at any time, but it is not ruled out merely because it is new, and the actual circumstances matter. The building’s rules must not prohibit minpaku, and a copy of the rules must be attached to the notification.

>

She lives in Hong Kong and will not be present during guests’ stays, so she must in principle entrust management to a registered housing accommodation management business. Chuo ward allows stays only from noon Saturday to noon Monday across the whole ward, so even though the legal cap is 180 days, weekdays are not allowed. Before signing, she needs to obtain the building’s rules and usage regulations, confirm the notification conditions with Chuo ward, and factor weekend-only operation into her income estimate.

Whether the particular home you are considering or own can run minpaku depends on the local ordinance, the zoning (用途地域) and the rules of the building.

Details: “Are Short-Term Rentals and Minpaku Legal in Japan? Private Lodging, Hotel and Inn Business, and Local Restrictions”.

What Costs Come Out Beyond the Gross Yield?

The costs a gross yield does not deduct include at least the apartment’s management fee and repair reserve, annual holding taxes, rental management and letting fees, restoration after a tenant leaves, months of vacancy, and the effect of the exchange rate when you convert yen back into your own currency. The table shows who pays each cost and how it is calculated:

Management fees and repair reserves change: The national averages in the table come from a questionnaire survey for fiscal 2023, and later changes are not reflected, so they cannot be used directly to calculate the yield of a particular home. MLIT’s guideline gives reference values for repair reserves: for example, for an apartment building under 20 floors with a total floor area under 5,000 square meters, the average is JPY 335 per square meter per month (about two-thirds of cases fall between JPY 235 and JPY 430), excluding mechanical parking. In the “stepped increase” method (段階増額), where the reserve starts low and rises later, the initial amount should be at least 0.6 times the benchmark for the level method and the final amount within 1.1 times; a new apartment using this method may see increases later. These are reference values, not legal standards.

Rent cannot be adjusted unilaterally: Under Article 32 of the Land and Building Lease Act (借地借家法), when rent has become unreasonable because of changes in taxes, land or building prices, or compared with similar nearby homes, either landlord or tenant may request an increase or decrease; if they cannot agree, a court decides.

At the end of an ordinary lease (普通借家), a landlord who wants to refuse renewal or terminate needs a “justifiable reason” (正当の事由), taking into account each side’s need to use the home, the history of the tenancy and any relocation payment offered. A fixed-term lease (定期借家) is concluded in writing, with a written explanation delivered in advance that it “ends at expiry”, and can be agreed not to renew. If you want to keep the flexibility to live in the home yourself later or to sell it empty, decide the lease type before letting.

Master leases and “rent guarantees” (家賃保証): Even when a contract states a rent guarantee, the rent a master-lease operator (サブリース, sublease) pays the owner can still be the subject of a request for reduction, during the contract term or at renewal, under Article 32 of the Land and Building Lease Act; and where the contract lets the operator terminate, the contract may also be ended during its term. Under a master-lease contract, restoration and major repair costs are in principle borne by the owner. The industry advertising code also requires that when rent guaranteed by a seller or similar is stated, who bears the cost, the content and the period, and other conditions, be shown.

Exchange rate: Based on the Bank of Japan’s monthly average rates, in January 2020 USD 1 bought JPY 109.38, and in August 2026 it bought JPY 158.81. A monthly rent of JPY 100,000 would convert from about USD 914 to about USD 630, a fall of about 31%. This is an illustration, in US dollars, over one past period, and exchange rates can also move the other way.

Details: “Costs Behind Japanese Rental Yield: Management Fees, Repair Reserves, Vacancy and Exchange Rates”.

Is Rental Income Taxed in Japan?

Yes. When an owner living overseas lets out a home in Japan, Japan can tax the rent: when the tenant is a company or similar, 20.42% is withheld at the time rent is paid, and after the withholding the owner must in principle still file a return in Japan.

Whether you are a non-resident: Under Japan’s Income Tax Act, an individual who has a domicile in Japan, or who has had a residence in Japan continuously for one year or more, is a resident; everyone else is a non-resident (非居住者, hi-kyojusha). An owner who lives elsewhere and only visits Japan occasionally is generally a non-resident, though it is decided on the individual facts.

Who withholds first: A tenant who pays rent to a non-resident within Japan, whether a company or an individual, must in principle withhold 20.42% at payment; an individual who rents for themselves or their relatives to live in need not withhold. From Jan 1, 2027, the name of the withholding tax items changes, but the combined rate remains 20.42%.

Withholding is not the final tax: A non-resident with rental income in Japan must in principle compute tax on a comprehensive basis and file a final return (確定申告, kakutei shinkoku) through a tax representative between Feb 16 and Mar 15 of the following year; tax already withheld is refunded or topped up at filing. Where the tenant is an individual renting to live in the home and nothing is withheld, a return must still be filed. Income is gross rent minus necessary expenses; the main expenses the tax authority lists are fixed asset tax on the rental property, casualty insurance premiums, depreciation and repair costs, plus interest on borrowing to acquire the rental property (principal does not count) and taxes such as real estate acquisition tax, registration and license tax and stamp duty. Whether other costs, such as management fees, can be included should be confirmed with a tax accountant (税理士).

Someone in Japan must handle it: Where a national tax return is required, a tax representative (納税管理人, nozei kanrinin) living in Japan must be chosen and notified to the tax office; an individual or a corporation can act. If none is notified, the tax office can require one to be designated; and from Jan 1, 2022, an adult spouse or relative who shares the taxpayer’s livelihood, a management company with a close contractual relationship and similar parties may be designated as a “specified tax representative” (特定納税管理人). For fixed asset tax, a tax representative is notified separately to the municipality where the property is located (to Tokyo Metropolitan Government for the 23 wards), and can be omitted if recognized as not affecting collection; this is a separate procedure from national tax.

If you live in Hong Kong or Taiwan: Both the Japan–Hong Kong income tax agreement and the Japan–Taiwan tax arrangement provide, in Article 6, that income from immovable property may be taxed where the property is located, which means Japan may tax it. Whether your place of residence still requires you to declare the income after you file in Japan, and whether you can claim a credit, depends on the rules where you live; this is not covered here, so confirm with a local tax adviser. Owners living in other countries should likewise check how their own country treats Japanese rental income.

Consumption tax: Rent for a home whose lease states it is for living in (or states no purpose but is clearly used for living) is not subject to consumption tax; lets of less than one month and similar are excepted.

**Example: Mr. Wang, living in Taichung**

>

Mr. Wang lives in Taiwan and only occasionally goes to Japan. He owns an apartment in Osaka, let to a Japanese company as staff housing. Under the Income Tax Act he is generally a non-resident, and because the tenant is a company, 20.42% must be withheld when rent is paid.

>

That withholding is not the final tax. He must choose a tax representative in Japan and notify the tax office, then file a final return between Feb 16 and Mar 15 of the following year, calculating income as rent minus necessary expenses such as fixed asset tax, insurance and depreciation, with tax already withheld refunded or topped up. Before letting, he needs to decide who will act as tax representative for national tax and for fixed asset tax, and confirm with a tax adviser in Taiwan how this rent is declared there.

Details: “Do Foreign Owners Pay Tax When Renting Out Japanese Property? Rental Income, Filing and Withholding”.

Seven Things to Confirm Before You Let

1. Whether the advertised yield is gross or net, and what the rent in the numerator and the price in the denominator each are.
2. This home’s management fee, repair reserve, the way the reserve is built up, and any plan to raise it.
3. Whether the building’s rules allow minpaku or other short-term rental, and whether local ordinances restrict it.
4. Whether the rental management company is registered, and whether it explains its fees in writing before signing.
5. Whether the lease should be an ordinary lease or a fixed-term lease, and whether you need to keep the flexibility to live in the home or sell it later.
6. If you are considering a master lease: that the rent can be requested to be reduced, whether the operator can terminate, and who pays for repairs.
7. Who will act as tax representative for national tax and fixed asset tax, and who will handle the annual filings.

Japan Property Letting and Rental Yield FAQ

Are there official figures for rental yield on Japanese property?

No. As of September 2026, Japan’s official statistics do not publish a rental yield for Tokyo, Osaka or Fukuoka. The yield in an advertisement is “expected annual rental income divided by acquisition price”, a gross figure before any costs. To judge what is actually left, you must separately deduct management fees, repair reserves, taxes and management and letting fees, and allow for vacancy and exchange rates.

Does Japan’s 13.8% vacancy rate mean over a tenth of rentals can’t be let?

No. The 13.8% is the share of all vacant homes in the national housing stock on Oct 1, 2023, including homes for sale and holiday homes. There are 4,435,800 vacant homes held for rent; estimated from official statistics they are about 18.6% of rental homes nationwide, but this is only a rough indicator that does not distinguish homes being actively marketed from homes that have been hard to let for a long time.

If I buy a Japanese apartment for minpaku, can I operate 180 days a year?

The 180 days is the cap under the Private Lodging Business Act and does not mean every home can operate that many days. Localities can limit areas and periods by ordinance; for example, Chuo ward in Tokyo allows stays only from noon Saturday to noon Monday across the whole ward. The building’s rules must also not prohibit minpaku. When the owner is not present, management must in principle be entrusted to a registered housing accommodation management business.

If the owner lives overseas, must rent from Japan be reported in Japan?

In principle yes. When the tenant is a company or similar, 20.42% is withheld when rent is paid, but withholding is not the final tax; a non-resident with Japanese rental income must in principle file a final return between Feb 16 and Mar 15 of the following year through a tax representative living in Japan, with the withholding refunded or topped up. Whether your place of residence also requires a declaration depends on the local rules.

Can the rent in a master lease with a “rent guarantee” be reduced?

It can. Government bodies including the Consumer Affairs Agency warn that even when a contract states a rent guarantee, the rent a master-lease operator pays the owner can still be the subject of a request for reduction, during the term or at renewal, under Article 32 of the Land and Building Lease Act; and where the contract lets the operator terminate, the contract may also be ended. Restoration and major repair costs are in principle borne by the owner.

Glossary

• Rental yield (利回り, riyawari): in advertisements, the ratio of expected annual rental income to acquisition price, before costs.
• Gross yield (表面利回り, hyomen riyawari): the rental yield with no costs deducted.
• Net yield (実質利回り, jisshitsu riyawari): the net return after deducting management fees, repair reserves, taxes and similar costs; there is no uniform official method.
• Vacant rental home (賃貸用の空き家, chintai-yo no akiya): a home left empty in order to be let, whether new or second-hand.
• Privately owned rental housing (民営借家, minkan shakuya): rental housing other than public housing, UR and public corporation housing, and employer-provided housing.
• Employer-provided housing (給与住宅, kyuyo jutaku): housing a company or agency provides for its employees, including ordinary homes that a company rents for staff to live in.
• Single-person household (単独世帯, tandoku setai): a household of one person.
• Private lodging business (住宅宿泊事業, jutaku shukuhaku jigyo): a business that charges for lodging in a home for no more than 180 days a year, commonly called minpaku.
• Housing accommodation management business (住宅宿泊管理業者, jutaku shukuhaku kanri gyosha): a business registered with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism that manages minpaku homes on behalf of owners.
• Special-zone minpaku (国家戦略特別区域外国人滞在施設経営事業): lodging for foreign visitors within a National Strategic Special Zone that, once certified, does not need a hotel and inn business license.
• Management association (管理組合, kanri kumiai): the body formed by all unit owners of an apartment building to manage it.
• Repair reserve (修繕積立金, shuzen tsumitate-kin): a long-term fund an apartment building accumulates for future major repairs.
• Ordinary lease (普通借家, futsu shakuya): a lease that is treated as renewed unless notice of non-renewal is given in the required way, and under which the landlord needs a justifiable reason not to renew or to terminate.
• Fixed-term lease (定期借家, teiki tatemono chintaishaku): a lease concluded in writing with prior explanation that ends at expiry and is not renewed.
• Master lease (サブリース, saburisu): an arrangement in which a business rents a home from the owner and sublets it to tenants.
• Non-resident (非居住者, hi-kyojusha): an individual with no domicile in Japan and no residence there continuously for one year or more.
• Tax representative (納税管理人, nozei kanrinin): a person who handles filing and tax payment for a taxpayer not living in Japan; national tax and local tax are handled separately.
• Final return (確定申告, kakutei shinkoku): the annual procedure of reporting the previous year’s income and settling the tax.

Notes on the Data

• The data was checked on Sep 30, 2026, against Japanese laws; the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, MLIT, the Japan Tourism Agency, the National Tax Agency, the Immigration Services Agency, the Japan Student Services Organization and the Bank of Japan; and official documents of Tokyo’s wards, Osaka city, Kyoto city, Fukuoka prefecture and Fukuoka city. Only official statistics are used for market figures, with their survey reference dates stated. Yields, vacancy rates and rents from private websites, agents and research firms are not used.
• The following conclusions are drawn from official documents, and no official document states them in one sentence:
• “Official statistics do not publish a rental yield for Tokyo, Osaka or Fukuoka” rests on a review of the real estate price index, the 2026 published land prices and the 2023 Housing and Land Survey (and the housing starts statistics and consumer price index), none of which contains a yield statistic; this does not mean every document has been checked.
• “There is no uniform method for the net yield” rests on the fact that MLIT’s master-lease guideline lists names only and gives no formula.
• “There is no figure for the number of expatriates renting” and “there is no figure for the share of single-person households among privately owned rental households” rest on the summaries and some tables of the statistics consulted; the detailed cross-tabulations were not downloaded.
• “Beyond 180 days the activity is no longer a private lodging business and a hotel and inn license may be required” rests on the fact that the legal definition and the penalty provisions contain no penalty that uses a number of days as an element; this is an inference.
• “Fukuoka’s official explanations contain no ordinance with area or period limits” rests only on the relevant pages of Fukuoka prefecture and Fukuoka city; the collection of ordinances was not checked article by article.
• “There is no statutory cap on rental management fees” rests on the fact that the Act on Proper Management of Rental Housing and its enforcement regulations contain no cap.
• The following figures are estimated from official statistics and are not official published ratios: the share of vacant rental homes; the vacancy rates for Tokyo’s 23 wards and Fukuoka city; the share of single-person households for Tokyo’s 23 wards and Fukuoka city; and the effect of the exchange rate in US dollars as an illustration. Average rents are the existing-tenancy rents reported by residents. The national averages for management fees and repair reserves come from the fiscal 2023 survey, and later changes could not be confirmed.
• MLIT’s real estate price index is not cited here because every release originally scheduled from April 2026 onward has been postponed with new dates not set. Toshima ward’s area and period limits take effect on Dec 16, 2026, and the ward has follow-up review meetings, so whether they will be amended again could not be confirmed. The names of the rental withholding tax items change from 2027; this article follows the National Tax Agency’s explanation that the combined rate is unchanged. How the place of residence (Taiwan, Hong Kong and so on) taxes Japanese rent was not researched.

Have a question about this guide? Leave a comment below, or ask Zagdim directly.

Sources

• Statistics Bureau, MIC – 令和5年住宅・土地統計調査 住宅及び世帯に関する基本集計（確報集計）結果の概要
• Statistics Bureau, MIC – 令和5年住宅・土地統計調査 用語の解説
• Statistics Bureau, MIC (e-Stat) – 令和5年住宅・土地統計調査 表1-1-1 居住世帯の有無別住宅数
• Statistics Bureau, MIC (e-Stat) – 令和5年住宅・土地統計調査 表3-1-1
• Statistics Bureau, MIC (e-Stat) – 令和5年住宅・土地統計調査 表112-2-2
• Osaka City Urban Planning Bureau – 令和５年住宅・土地統計調査結果（確報）＜大阪市＞
• Osaka Prefecture Statistics Division – 令和５年住宅・土地統計調査 結果の概要（大阪府）
• MLIT – 建築着工統計調査報告（令和7年計）
• MLIT – 建築着工統計調査報告（令和8年8月分）
• Statistics Bureau, MIC – 2025年基準 消費者物価指数 全国 2026年8月分
• Statistics Bureau, MIC – 2025年基準 消費者物価指数 東京都区部 2026年8月分（中旬速報値）
• Statistics Bureau, MIC – 住民基本台帳人口移動報告 2025年結果
• MLIT – 令和8年地価公示の概要
• MLIT – 不動産価格指数
• Fair Trade Conference for Real Estate Associations – 不動産の表示に関する公正競争規約・同施行規則（規約集）
• MLIT – サブリース事業に係る適正な業務のためのガイドライン
• Statistics Bureau, MIC – 令和７年国勢調査 人口等基本集計結果 結果の概要
• Osaka City Urban Planning Bureau – 令和7年国勢調査における大阪市の人口等基本集計結果
• Statistics Bureau, MIC – 令和７年国勢調査 都道府県・市区町村別の主な結果
• Immigration Services Agency – 令和７年末現在における在留外国人数について
• Japan Student Services Organization – 2025（令和7）年度外国人留学生在籍状況調査結果
• Japan Student Services Organization – 2025（令和7）年度外国人留学生在籍状況調査 結果資料
• Japan National Tourism Organization – 訪日外客数（2025年12月推計値）
• Japan National Tourism Organization – 年別 訪日外客数、出国日本人数の推移
• e-Gov Law Search – 住宅宿泊事業法
• e-Gov Law Search – 住宅宿泊事業法施行令
• e-Gov Law Search – 住宅宿泊事業法施行規則
• MHLW and MLIT – 住宅宿泊事業法施行要領（ガイドライン）
• MLIT – 令和７年改正マンション標準管理規約（単棟型）及び同コメント
• MLIT – マンション標準管理規約
• e-Gov Law Search – 旅館業法
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare – 民泊サービスと旅館業法に関するＱ＆Ａ
• Chuo Ward Public Health Center – 旅館業と貸室業との判断基準について
• e-Gov Law Search – 国家戦略特別区域法
• e-Gov Law Search – 国家戦略特別区域法施行令
• Osaka City – 国家戦略特別区域外国人滞在施設経営事業に関する条例
• Osaka City Economic Strategy Bureau – 大阪市国家戦略特別区域外国人滞在施設経営事業の新規受付終了について
• Shinjuku Ward – 住宅宿泊事業と新宿区のルールについて
• Shinjuku Ward – 新宿区住宅宿泊事業の適正な運営の確保に関する条例
• Chuo Ward – 住宅宿泊事業に関する中央区のルールについて
• Chuo Ward – 中央区住宅宿泊事業の適正な運営に関する条例
• Chiyoda Ward – 千代田区住宅宿泊事業の実施に関する条例・ガイドライン
• Chiyoda Ward – 千代田区住宅宿泊事業の実施に関する条例
• Toshima Ward – 住宅宿泊事業法の条例を改正しました
• Toshima Ward – 豊島区住宅宿泊事業の適正な運営の確保に関する条例 新旧対照表
• Toshima Ward – 民泊条例改正の概要について
• Kyoto City – 「住宅宿泊事業」（民泊）に係る京都市の独自ルールについて
• Kyoto City – 京都市住宅宿泊事業の適正な運営を確保するための措置に関する条例
• Osaka City Health Bureau – 住宅宿泊事業について
• Fukuoka City Public Health Center – 「いわゆる民泊」の営業には住宅宿泊事業法の届出か旅館業法の許可が必要です！
• Fukuoka Prefecture – 住宅宿泊事業法の概要
• Japan Tourism Agency, Minpaku Portal – 住宅宿泊事業法の施行状況
• MLIT – 令和５年度マンション総合調査結果〔概要編〕
• MLIT – 報道発表資料（令和５年度マンション総合調査結果）
• MLIT – マンションの修繕積立金に関するガイドライン（令和６年６月改定）
• e-Gov Law Search – 地方税法
• Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications – 地方税制度：固定資産税
• Tokyo Bureau of Taxation – 固定資産税・都市計画税（土地・家屋）
• e-Gov Law Search – 賃貸住宅の管理業務等の適正化に関する法律
• e-Gov Law Search – 賃貸住宅の管理業務等の適正化に関する法律施行規則
• MLIT – 宅地建物取引業者が宅地又は建物の売買等に関して受けることができる報酬の額
• MLIT – 宅地建物取引業法の解釈・運用の考え方（令和８年４月１日施行版）
• e-Gov Law Search – 民法
• MLIT – 原状回復をめぐるトラブルとガイドライン（再改訂版）
• e-Gov Law Search – 借地借家法
• Consumer Affairs Agency – サブリース契約に関するトラブルにご注意ください!
• Consumer Affairs Agency, Financial Services Agency and MLIT – 賃貸住宅経営（サブリース方式）の契約を検討する方へ
• Bank of Japan – 時系列統計データ検索サイト 東京市場 ドル・円 スポット 17時時点／月中平均
• National Tax Agency – タックスアンサー No.2875 居住者と非居住者の区分
• National Tax Agency – タックスアンサー No.2880 非居住者等に不動産の賃借料を支払ったとき
• e-Gov Law Search – 所得税法
• e-Gov Law Search – 所得税法施行令
• National Tax Agency – 防衛特別所得税及び復興特別所得税の源泉徴収のあらまし（令和９年１月以後の源泉徴収）
• National Tax Agency – タックスアンサー No.1926 海外勤務中に不動産所得などがある場合
• National Tax Agency – タックスアンサー No.1370 不動産収入を受け取ったとき（不動産所得）
• e-Gov Law Search – 国税通則法
• National Tax Agency – 所得税・消費税の納税管理人の選任届出又は解任届出手続
• National Tax Agency – 特定納税管理人制度の概要
• National Tax Agency – タックスアンサー No.6201 非課税となる取引
• National Tax Agency – タックスアンサー No.6225 地代、家賃や権利金、敷金など
• Ministry of Finance – 所得に対する租税に関する二重課税の回避及び脱税の防止のための日本国政府と中華人民共和国香港特別行政区政府との間の協定（英文）
• Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association – 所得に対する租税に関する二重課税の回避及び脱税の防止のための公益財団法人交流協会と亜東関係協会との間の取決め

Important Notice

This article is a general compilation of information. It is not individual legal, tax, financial or investment advice, and it does not forecast the rent or yield of any property. The data was checked on Sep 30, 2026. Statistics, rules and local ordinances may be updated, so rely on the current announcements of Japanese authorities and local governments, and consult a qualified tax accountant, lawyer or other professional where necessary.