TOKYO - A ruling party panel on Thursday presented Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi with proposals including a permit system for foreign and Japanese nationals seeking to acquire land near important facilities and on uninhabited border islands.
According to a Liberal Democratic Party official, Takaichi responded by expressing her intention to submit, during the 69-day extraordinary Diet session starting Monday, a bill revising the important land survey act, which regulates the use of real estate in such areas.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with Takaichi at her office, Yoshitaka Shindo, who oversees the party's discussions on related policies, said the prime minister wants to "take firm measures and respond accordingly."
The proposals aim to establish rules on how land in areas important to national security is acquired and used, calling for effective controls from the acquisition stage.
Under the proposals, the scope of land subject to legal controls on acquisitions would be expanded and a permit system introduced to block ownership transfers deemed to pose a national security risk.
Foreign governments, their collaborators and foreign military personnel would, in principle, be denied permission on national security grounds.
The proposals call for penalties for acquiring land without permission or obtaining permission through fraudulent means.
Amid concerns over soaring condominium prices in major urban areas, the panel is also calling for steps to curb speculative transactions involving such properties, including tax measures.
