Measures must be steadily implemented so that the effective use of national land is not hindered by land whose ownership is unclear.
The amount of land with unknown or unclear ownership is estimated to have exceeded the size of Kyushu.
The presence of such land sometimes hampers public works projects and reconstruction from disasters, as the purchase of the land is delayed because its owner cannot be identified. There are not a few cases in which improperly managed land causes inconvenience for the surrounding areas due to such problems as illegal garbage dumping and the growth of weeds.
It is important to take immediate steps to prevent increases in land with unclear ownership.
An interim draft has been compiled by a subcommittee of the Legislative Council, an advisory panel to the justice minister. The government plans to submit bills to revise the Civil Code and the Real Property Registration Law to an extraordinary Diet session this autumn.
The first point for discussion is whether inheritance registration should be made mandatory. The biggest reason for the increase in the amount of land with unknown owners is that the owner's name is not updated in registries when the land is inherited. If nothing is done, the number of such cases is highly likely to increase further due to the aging population.
The interim draft proposes that the inheritors of land be subject to a fine if they do not register within a certain period of time after the demise of the landowner.
Aiming to seek proper registration from people is understandable. However, inheritance registration forces an heir to bear such burdens as preparing many documents, including a copy of their family register, and paying registration and license taxes. It costs more to own the land because the owner needs to pay fixed property tax and shoulder the costs of managing the property.
First of all, it's necessary to identify factors that prevent people from inheritance registration and make efforts to eliminate them.
Regarding how to handle the procedures, a system is being studied that would allow inheritance registration to be made simply with such information as a person's name and address. Other measures such as lightening the tax burden should also be considered.
In densely populated areas and disaster-stricken areas, land with unknown owners has a significant impact on the environment and reconstruction. The government should come up with ingenious methods to give priority assistance to these areas.
It is also necessary to change the mentality of landowners. The government must conduct educational activities, encouraging owners to hold thorough discussions with their families while alive about inheritance and making them aware how necessary registration is.
The second point for discussion is how to deal with the renunciation of land ownership. Although the current Civil Code does not allow renunciation, some people want to give up ownership because they live far away from the land, making it difficult to manage.
The interim draft calls for creating a system in which only individuals can renounce their ownership. It assumes that the government will take over the renounced land after examining the situation according to newly created criteria -- for example, the land should be easy to manage and there should be no dispute over land rights.
If many owners casually give up land to avoid the burden of the fixed property tax and managing costs, it could lead to a decrease in tax revenues and an increase in state fiscal spending. The government should carefully work out a system so as not to impose an excessive burden on the public.
-- This article appeared in the print version of The Yomiuri Shimbun on Jan. 12, 2020.
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