Should I buy property — including an akiya — in Japan as an American?
Short answer: Japan does not generally restrict foreign nationals from buying real estate, including an abandoned akiya house, so the purchase itself is usually straightforward. The planning work is on the US side: the property is a reportable foreign asset, renovation and holding costs on an akiya can be substantial and are easy to underestimate, and resale liquidity in rural areas is often much lower than the low purchase price suggests.
Written and reviewed by Anthony Walsh, Selanis. Last reviewed 2026-10-09.
Why it works this way
Because there is no treaty exemption for foreign real estate, a Japanese property held by a US citizen is part of the worldwide estate for US estate tax purposes and, if rented, produces US-reportable rental income with its own depreciation rules that differ from Japan's.
Akiya programs in depopulating municipalities often advertise very low purchase prices, but renovation to a habitable standard, ongoing fixed asset tax and the cost of eventual demolition if the property cannot be sold are the real financial variables — several multiples of the purchase price in many cases.
Japanese inheritance tax rules discussed elsewhere on this page apply to property as much as to financial assets, so a long-term American resident buying a home in Japan should plan the property into the same residence-history calculation.
The expensive mistake: Buying an akiya purely on the headline price
The purchase price is frequently the smallest cost. Renovation, access, and the difficulty of reselling in a shrinking local market are what determine whether it was a good decision.
What to do
- Get a renovation and holding-cost estimate before buying — Treat the purchase price as a small part of the total cost.
- Add the property to your US reporting and estate plan — It is a worldwide asset like any other for US tax purposes.
- Check resale liquidity for the specific area — Rural akiya markets can be extremely illiquid regardless of the renovation quality.