There has been a continued increase in the amount of land for which the owners remain unknown. With a view to effectively utilizing national land, wisdom should be exerted in improving the situation.
The Justice Ministry has asked its Legislative Council for opinions regarding a review of the system for land inheritance registration and other matters. The ministry intends to have relevant legislation submitted to the Diet as early as 2020.
As of 2016, the amount of land of unknown ownership had reached a total of about 4.1 million hectares, an area larger than Kyushu, according to an estimate by a private-sector study group.
Reflecting an increase in the death rate due to the progressive graying of society, it is said the figure will reach about 7.2 million hectares in 2040, an area close to that of Hokkaido. There is a pressing need to address the problem.
The presence of land with unknown owners could hamper such activities as land development and public works projects.
There are many cases in which, when the government tries to acquire tracts of land, their registered holders are found to be already dead, leaving it unclear who owns the land. In building a certain national highway, there were more than 140 heirs to the land needed for that project. Consequently, it took about three years to acquire.
No measures can be taken to prevent the collapse of a steep incline on land of unknown ownership. Nor can illegally dumped home electric appliances be removed from similar land. Such cases have been reported from various areas. There is also a case in which trees and plants have grown on such land, resulting in the breeding of harmful insects and inconveniencing people in the surrounding areas.
The greatest cause of the increase in such land is failure to register the property at the time of inheritance. With this in mind, the ministry is set to consider making it compulsory for people to register themselves as the owners of land if and when they inherit such property.
Simplify administrative steps
However, inheritance registration requires a lot of time and effort, including the submission of a copy of one's family register. Paying registration and license taxes is also necessary.
If such registration is to be made obligatory, it is indispensable for administrative authorities to make efforts in this respect, such as by simplifying necessary procedures and reducing the burden of expenses.
Another task is to promote cooperation within administrative authorities. Although information about people's deaths is conveyed to regional legal affairs bureaus, it is not shared with sections in charge of land registration. In some cases, families of the deceased continue to pay fixed property taxes while leaving the property in question unregistered for inheritance.
One viable idea is to integrate information that is imparted to several administrative departments, thereby encouraging pertinent persons to conduct inheritance registration.
Some land is difficult to manage after being inherited, such as when it is located in a remote area. There are also cases in which land attracts no buyers after being offered for sale. In response to these realities, the council is set to discuss introducing a system by which people would be permitted to renounce their land ownership.
There are many issues to be debated in this context, including which entity would undertake to manage land for which ownership renunciation has been permitted, as well as who would shoulder the cost of managing the property.
There are concerns that doing so would create a moral hazard, for example, in the form of tax dodging. It is essential to cautiously examine the idea while considering such measures as toughening requirements for an inheritance waiver.
Land use and management is an issue related to many fields, including urban planning and the tax system. It is also essential to note the fact that there are great differences in the circumstances surrounding land-related issues in urban and rural areas.
It is important for each government ministry and agency, as well as local governments, to make multi-faceted efforts in this task.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 5, 2019)
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