How do overseas Chinese-speaking heirs sell co-owned Japanese real estate? Shares, powers of attorney and local notarisation

In short: several heirs living in Taiwan, Hong Kong or mainland China have inherited Japanese real estate in co-ownership and want to sell — to sell the building and land as a whole, every co-owner's consent is needed (Civil Code Article 251(1)). Even without everyone aligned, your own share alone can be sold to a third party, but the price tends to fall and buyers are few. Overseas heirs use a signature certificate from a Japanese consulate in place of a Japanese seal certificate, and layer local notarisation and consular authentication onto the power of attorney. Brokerage and share transactions are by our company (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.); confirmation of the heirs and the cross-border estate-division agreement and powers of attorney, by an administrative scrivener (cross-border inheritance); the inheritance registration, by a judicial scrivener; inheritance tax, by a tax accountant; disputes among co-owners, by a lawyer; notarisation on the home-country side, by a local notary or lawyer — each engaged as an independent business entity, separately and directly.

Several heirs live overseas (Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China) and have inherited Japanese real estate in co-ownership. This article is for such parties and their local professionals: the steps for overseas co-owners to sell Japanese real estate, set out from the Civil Code, the Act on General Rules for Application of Laws, the Income Tax Act and the Real Property Registration Act, and materials of the National Tax Agency. The way of selling, valuation and brokerage are handled by our company as information; confirmation of heirs, the need for documents, registration, tax and disputes rest with qualified professionals. Unlike a domestic co-owners' sale or a single-owner vacant house, this article focuses on what is specific to "several overseas co-owners" — the powers of attorney, local notarisation, and the settlement and overseas remittance.

Do overseas co-owners have to be all together to sell?

As a premise, if the deceased was a Japanese national, the inheritance is governed by Japanese law (Act on General Rules for Application of Laws Article 36 — inheritance is governed by the deceased's national law). Who the heirs are and in what proportions they co-own start from this governing-law judgment.

On that basis, selling co-owned real estate follows the same framework as a domestic inheritance. To sell the building and land as a whole, every co-owner's consent is needed (Civil Code Article 251(1)). Your own share alone, on the other hand, can be sold to a third party without the others' consent (though it cannot be used alone and the price tends to fall).

Way of selling	Consent needed	Feature
Sell the whole	All co-owners' consent (Civil Code Art. 251(1))	Easy to sell at market price, but everyone must be in step
Sell a share only	Each co-owner can do it alone	No consent needed, but buyers are few and the price tends to fall

With overseas co-owners, actually gathering this "everyone's consent" is heavier than domestically. The basic framework of a co-owners' sale is at selling inherited co-owned real estate; the first moves where overseas heirs inherit a vacant house are at when Chinese-speaking heirs inherit a Japanese vacant house. Inherited real estate in general is at inheritance and real estate.

What powers of attorney, local notarisation and consular authentication do you gather?

Where an overseas heir entrusts the sale to a representative or agent in Japan, a power of attorney is needed. The issue is the backing for identity. What a Japanese resident shows with a registered seal and seal certificate, an overseas resident arranges as follows.

Domestic document	Overseas-resident substitute
Seal certificate	Signature certificate from a Japanese consulate (embassy / consulate-general)
Certificate of residence (proof of address)	Certificate of residence abroad from the consulate
Authenticity of the power of attorney	Bind the signature certificate to the power of attorney, and add local notarisation / consular authentication as needed

A signature certificate comes in a "bound" form (signing a specific document such as a power of attorney before the consul, who certifies it) and a standalone form. Which form registration and settlement require differs by procedure, so confirm in advance with an administrative scrivener or judicial scrivener versed in cross-border inheritance which document takes which certificate.

Where notarisation or authentication by a notary is needed on the home-country side, a local notary or lawyer handles it. Note that the need for authentication changes in both directions — using Japanese documents abroad, and using foreign documents in Japan.

How do the procedures differ between selling a share and selling the whole?

Whether you sell "the co-owned property itself" or "your own share" changes both the consent needed and the steps.

Point	Sell the whole	Sell a share only
Consent	All co-owners' consent (Civil Code Art. 251(1))	Each co-owner can do it alone
Estate division	If undivided, the estate-division agreement (Art. 907) is often settled first	The statutory-share portion can be disposed of alone
Power of attorney	Gather each person's PoA and signature certificate, including overseas residents	The selling person's PoA and signature certificate suffice
Price	Easy to sell at market price	Cannot be used alone and partition takes effort, so it tends to fall
Buyer	General buyers	Firms buying co-ownership shares, or other co-owners, etc.

To sell the whole with everyone including overseas residents, the key is gathering the estate-division agreement and each person's PoA and signature certificate. When talks do not settle, co-ownership partition (Civil Code Arts. 256 and 258) or a share sale become options, but if the dispute among co-owners becomes contentious it is the lawyer's territory. First seek agreement to sell the whole, and consider a share sale as the exit when that is hard — that is the usual order.

How are the overseas remittance of proceeds and non-resident withholding handled?

Where the seller is a non-resident (living overseas), the buyer may bear a withholding duty. The transfer proceeds of land etc. within Japan are domestic-source income (Income Tax Act Article 161), and the buyer paying them must in principle withhold 10.21% of the proceeds and pay it to the state (Income Tax Act Article 212). The seller settles by filing a return.

There is an exception. Where the proceeds are 100 million yen or less and the buyer is an individual who acquired the property for their own or a relative's residential use, no withholding is needed (Income Tax Act Enforcement Order Article 281-3). Assume withholding applies in business or high-value transactions.

Point	Content
Subject to withholding	A non-resident's transfer proceeds of land etc. within Japan (Income Tax Act Arts. 161, 212)
Rate	10.21% (10% income tax + 0.21% special reconstruction income tax)
Exception	Proceeds ¥100m or less and the buyer an individual for own/relative's residence — not needed (Enforcement Order Art. 281-3)
Settlement	The non-resident seller settles by filing; appoint a tax agent (National Tax General Act Art. 117)
Overseas remittance	The post-settlement remittance follows the bank's identity and source-of-funds procedures

Have a question about your situation?

Tell us about your property search or plans to sell.

Chat on LINEContact us

The specific need for withholding, the amount, the return and the appointment of a tax agent are the tax accountant's territory. As overseas remittance follows the bank's procedures, fix early the schedule working back from the arrival of funds to the settlement date. Selling a tenanted property by an overseas heir is also at how an overseas heir sells a tenanted apartment.

How do local professionals and the Japanese-side agent, administrative scrivener and judicial scrivener connect (separate engagement)?

A sale by overseas co-owners involves several professionals in Japan and locally. Dividing the roles:

What to do	Who
Brokerage, share transactions, valuation, sale contract	Licensed real estate agent (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.)
Confirmation of heirs, cross-border estate-division agreement, need for PoA / local notarisation	Administrative scrivener (Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office / cross-border inheritance)
Inheritance registration, ownership-transfer registration	Judicial scrivener
Inheritance tax, non-resident capital-gains tax, tax agent	Tax accountant
Disputes among co-owners, partition claims	Lawyer
Home-country-side notarisation / authentication	Local notary / lawyer

These are independent business entities. You engage each directly. We neither pay nor accept referral fees or introduction commissions. Confirmation of heirs and the need for documents go to an administrative scrivener, registration to a judicial scrivener, tax to a tax accountant, disputes to a lawyer, and home-country notarisation to the local professional — each engaged by you directly. Consultation is free of charge.

Who should you consult?

For a sale of Japanese real estate by overseas co-owners, the valuation, brokerage, sale contract and share transactions are handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304). Preparation of documents submitted to public offices and between private parties — confirmation of heirs, the cross-border estate-division agreement, and the need for powers of attorney and local notarisation — is handled by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office. The inheritance and ownership-transfer registration are handled by a judicial scrivener, inheritance tax and non-resident capital-gains tax and the tax agent by a tax accountant, disputes among co-owners by a lawyer, and home-country notarisation by a local notary or lawyer. Property and the rights and procedures are put on the same table.

Frequently asked questions

Q. One heir is overseas and hard to reach. Can the rest sell?
A. To sell the building and land as a whole, every co-owner's consent is needed (Civil Code Art. 251(1)). You must gather the PoA and signature certificate from all, including the overseas co-owner. When not everyone aligns, consider selling only your own share, or settling through co-ownership partition.

Q. I can't get a seal certificate. What do we do overseas?
A. In place of a Japanese seal certificate, use a signature certificate from a Japanese consulate; show your address with a certificate of residence abroad. Which certificate attaches to the power of attorney, and whether home-country notarisation/authentication is needed, differ by procedure — confirm first with an administrative scrivener or judicial scrivener versed in cross-border inheritance.

Q. Is tax deducted when I remit the proceeds overseas?
A. Where the seller is a non-resident, the buyer withholds 10.21% of the proceeds in principle (Income Tax Act Arts. 161, 212). But if the proceeds are ¥100m or less and the buyer is an individual buying for own/relative's residence, it is not needed (Enforcement Order Art. 281-3). The need, amount, return and tax agent are handled by a tax accountant.

Q. Do we also need to prepare documents on the home-country (Taiwan / Hong Kong / mainland China) side?
A. For the power of attorney and inheritance-related documents, notarisation or authentication by a notary may be needed on the home-country side, handled by a local notary or lawyer. Because the need differs whether using Japanese documents abroad or foreign documents in Japan, confirm in both directions.

Sources (primary)

• e-Gov "Civil Code" — Act No. 89 of 1896. Arts. 249–264 (co-ownership; Art. 251(1) — change/disposition of co-owned property needs all-consent), Arts. 256 and 258 (partition), Art. 907 (estate-division agreement). Accessed 21 September 2026.
• e-Gov "Act on General Rules for Application of Laws" — Act No. 78 of 2006. Art. 36 — inheritance is governed by the deceased's national law. Accessed 21 September 2026.
• e-Gov "Income Tax Act" — Act No. 33 of 1965. Art. 161 (domestic-source income — transfer proceeds of land etc. within Japan), Art. 212 (withholding duty on payment to a non-resident). Accessed 21 September 2026.
• e-Gov "Real Property Registration Act" — Act No. 123 of 2004. Art. 76-2 (mandatory application for registration of transfer of ownership by inheritance; within three years of learning of the acquisition; effective 1 April 2024). Accessed 21 September 2026.
• NTA tax answer No. 2879 "When you purchase land etc. from a non-resident" — purchase of land etc. from a non-resident and withholding (10.21% of the proceeds; the exception for ¥100m or less and the buyer's own/relative's residence). Accessed 21 September 2026.

Whether the whole or a share can be sold, estate division, the need for signature certificates / local notarisation / consular authentication, and the need for and amount of withholding vary with the heirs' nationality and residence and the transaction. This article does not assess any individual case. Confirmation of heirs and the need for documents go to an administrative scrivener; the inheritance registration, to a judicial scrivener; inheritance and capital-gains tax, to a tax accountant; disputes among co-owners, to a lawyer; home-country notarisation, to a local notary or lawyer. This article is general information. It does not judge or guarantee the feasibility of any particular sale or the tax amount. Investigation and brokerage, and the sale contract, are undertaken by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent); the cross-border estate-division agreement and powers of attorney, by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office — independent business entities, engaged separately and directly. We neither pay nor accept referral fees.

About the author

Joji Uramatsu — licensed real estate transaction specialist (Tokyo Governor registration No. 293544) and administrative scrivener (registration No. 25087022). Representative Director, Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304); principal, Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office. Kohinata, Bunkyo, Tokyo, about five minutes' walk from Myogadani station. Property and the sorting of rights and procedures (inheritance, registration, tax) are put on the same table. Full profile: author page.