Can inherited productive green land be sold? Specified productive green land, the buy-out request and the road to sale

In short: inherited productive green land can be sold, but the road differs from residential land. It carries restrictions that limit building and land preparation, so you cannot freely sell it as residential land. The keys are: (1) whether the land has moved to specified productive green land, or the restriction has lifted through 30 years' passage or de-designation; (2) whether a buy-out request to the mayor (Productive Green Land Act Article 10) lifts the restriction; and (3) whether inheritance-tax deferral (Special Taxation Measures Act Article 70-6) applies. Brokerage of the sale is by our company (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.); the feasibility and cut-off of inheritance-tax deferral, by a tax accountant; the buy-out request, de-designation and farmland conversion, by an administrative scrivener; the inheritance registration, by a judicial scrivener; disputes among heirs, by a lawyer — each engaged as an independent business entity, separately and directly.

You inherited farmland (productive green land) inside an urbanisation-promotion area and are unsure whether to keep farming or sell. This article is for such heirs: the restrictions specific to productive green land and the road to sale, set out from the Productive Green Land Act, the City Planning Act and the Special Taxation Measures Act, and materials of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the National Tax Agency. The way of selling, valuation and finding a buyer are handled by our company as information; tax, administrative procedure, registration and disputes rest with qualified professionals. That it is treated differently from farmland outside the urbanisation-promotion area or in a control area is the difficulty of this land.

What is productive green land, and what restriction arises on inheriting it?

Productive green land is farmland inside an urbanisation-promotion area that is designated in the city plan as a "productive green land district" (a district zone under the City Planning Act, preserved as farmland by the Productive Green Land Act). The owner bears a duty to manage it as farmland, and in return the fixed-asset tax is assessed as farmland, not residential land, and it may qualify for deferral of inheritance and gift tax.

In exchange, productive green land carries a restriction on acts. Within the district, new building, land preparation and change of the land's form and quality are in principle restricted and need the mayor's permission. So, while the restriction stands, you cannot simply "prepare it as residential land and sell it."

Feature	Content
Location	Farmland inside an urbanisation-promotion area, designated as a productive green land district in the city plan
Restriction	Building, land preparation and change of form/quality are in principle restricted (mayor's permission)
Tax benefit	Fixed-asset tax assessed as farmland; may qualify for inheritance/gift-tax deferral
Area requirement	In principle 500 m² or more of a block of farmland (a bylaw may lower it to 300 m²)

The difference from farmland outside or in a control area is large: inheritance and sale of farmland in general is at what to confirm first when selling or leasing inherited farmland, and control-area land at can inherited urbanisation-control-area land be sold?. Inherited real estate in general is at inheritance and real estate.

How does the sale differ by whether it moved to specified productive green land or was de-designated?

The dividing line is the land's "current state." Productive green land becomes eligible for a buy-out request at any time once 30 years have passed since the designation notice (Productive Green Land Act Article 10). Many plots were designated in 1992, and their 30th year fell around 2022 — the so-called "2022 problem."

The owner then had two roads. One was moving to specified productive green land (Article 10-2): with the owner's consent, a plot nearing its 30th year is designated as specified productive green land, keeping the tax benefit and letting you re-choose continuation every ten years. The other was not moving, making a buy-out request, and heading for the lifting of the restriction (turning to residential use).

State of the land	Effect on sale
Moved to specified productive green land	Restriction continues. To sell, consider a buy-out request (ten years from the request base date / death of the main worker) or a sale as farmland
30 years passed, not moved	A buy-out request can be made at any time; once the restriction lifts, it becomes easier to sell as residential land
Restriction already lifted after a request	Shifts to residential-level tax but is easy to sell as residential land

Which state the inherited productive green land is in can be confirmed at the municipal city-planning section. As this changes the whole sale plan, confirming the current state is the starting point.

What is the flow from a buy-out request to the sale?

To sell restricted productive green land as residential land, you generally need to pass through a buy-out request to the lifting of the restriction. The flow is:

Stage	Content
① Buy-out request	On the requirement of 30 years' passage (or death/incapacity of the main worker), request the mayor to buy it at market value (Art. 10)
② Municipal decision	The municipality decides whether to buy or notifies that it will not
③ Mediation	Where the municipality does not buy, mediation to farming/fishery applicants may take place
④ Lifting of the restriction	If ownership does not transfer within three months of the request, the restriction lifts (Art. 14)
⑤ Sale as residential land	Once lifted, you can move to brokerage and a sale contract as residential land

If the main worker (the central bearer of that farmland) has died, a buy-out request can be made without waiting out the 30 years. This death-of-the-main-worker request is the exit when inheritance makes it impossible to keep farming. Who counts as the main worker, and how to arrange the proof, are administrative-procedure points, in the territory of an administrative scrivener.

What happens on sale if you are receiving inheritance-tax deferral?

Where the deceased farmed the productive green land and the heir succeeds to the farming, inheritance-tax deferral (Special Taxation Measures Act Article 70-6 — deferral and exemption of inheritance tax on farmland, etc.) may apply. It defers the inheritance tax on the portion above the agricultural-investment value, and if the requirements are met and farming continues, the deferred tax is ultimately exempted.

The problem: transferring or converting deferred farmland cuts off the deferral. A buy-out request or sale can be such a cut-off event. Once cut off, you pay the deferred inheritance tax plus interest tax.

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• Whether deferral applies is confirmed from the inheritance-tax return
• Whether a sale/buy-out request is a cut-off event, and when and how much to pay, bears directly on the tax
• If it has moved to specified productive green land, deferral may continue, changing the farming-or-sale decision

This judgment is the tax accountant's territory. Proceeding with a sale without checking the cut-off and the amount can bring unexpected tax. Before deciding whether to sell, have a tax accountant confirm the deferral status. We assist with the valuation and brokerage where you do sell.

Sale, tax, administrative procedure, registration — who do you assign each to (separate engagement)?

Selling inherited productive green land involves several professionals. Dividing the roles:

What to do	Who
Way of selling, valuation, finding a buyer, brokerage, sale contract	Licensed real estate agent (Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd.)
Feasibility/cut-off of inheritance-tax deferral, capital-gains tax	Tax accountant
Buy-out request, de-designation, farmland conversion — documents to public offices	Administrative scrivener (Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office)
Inheritance registration, ownership-transfer registration	Judicial scrivener
Disputes among heirs, estate-division mediation/litigation	Lawyer

These are independent business entities. You engage each directly. We neither pay nor accept referral fees or introduction commissions. Tax goes to a tax accountant, the buy-out request and farmland conversion to an administrative scrivener, registration to a judicial scrivener, disputes to a lawyer — each engaged by you directly. Consultation is free of charge.

Who should you consult?

The way of selling inherited productive green land, valuation, finding a buyer, brokerage and the sale contract are handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304). Preparation of documents submitted to public offices, such as the buy-out request, de-designation and farmland conversion, is handled by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office. Inheritance-tax deferral and capital-gains tax are handled by a tax accountant, the inheritance and ownership-transfer registration by a judicial scrivener, and disputes among heirs by a lawyer. Property and the rights and procedures (inheritance, tax, registration) are put on the same table.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Can I sell inherited productive green land as residential land as-is?
A. Not freely while the restriction stands. Building and land preparation are in principle restricted in the district. To sell as residential land, you generally need a buy-out request (Art. 10) leading to the lifting of the restriction. Confirming at the municipal city-planning section whether it is specified productive green land or 30 years have passed is the starting point.

Q. If it moved to specified productive green land, can it no longer be sold?
A. It can still be sold, but the restriction continues. For specified productive green land, a buy-out request can be made when ten years pass from the request base date, or the main worker dies/becomes incapacitated. You keep the tax benefit, but the road to residential use passes through a buy-out request as with ordinary productive green land.

Q. The parent who was the main worker has died. Can I sell without waiting the 30 years?
A. The main worker's death is a requirement for a buy-out request without waiting out the 30 years (Art. 10). Who counts as the main worker and how to arrange the proof are administrative-procedure points, undertaken by an administrative scrivener. Once the restriction lifts, you can move to a residential-land sale.

Q. I receive inheritance-tax deferral. What happens if I sell?
A. Transferring or converting deferred farmland can cut off the deferral, requiring payment of the deferred inheritance tax plus interest tax (Art. 70-6). Judging the cut-off and the amount is the tax accountant's territory. Before deciding to sell, have a tax accountant confirm the deferral status.

Sources (primary)

• e-Gov "Productive Green Land Act" — Act No. 68 of 1974. Art. 10 (buy-out request — 30 years from the designation notice / death of the main worker), Art. 10-2 (designation of specified productive green land), Art. 14 (lifting of the restriction where ownership does not transfer within three months of the request). Accessed 21 September 2026.
• e-Gov "City Planning Act" — Act No. 100 of 1968. The productive green land district is a district zone in the city plan. Accessed 21 September 2026.
• e-Gov "Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation" — Act No. 26 of 1957. Art. 70-6 (deferral and exemption of inheritance tax on farmland, etc.; cut-off on transfer/conversion). Accessed 21 September 2026.
• NTA tax answer No. 4147 "The deferral special provision where an agricultural heir inherits farmland" — requirements and cut-off events of the deferral. Accessed 21 September 2026.
• NTA tax answer No. 4626 "Valuation of productive green land" — inheritance-tax valuation of productive green land. Accessed 21 September 2026.

Whether it moved to specified productive green land, whether the buy-out-request requirements are met, whether the deferral is cut off and how much is due, and the feasibility of farmland conversion / de-designation, vary with the individual circumstances and the municipality's practice. This article does not assess any individual case. Inheritance-tax deferral and capital-gains tax go to a tax accountant; the buy-out request and farmland conversion, to an administrative scrivener; the inheritance registration, to a judicial scrivener; disputes among heirs, to a 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 buy-out request and farmland-conversion documents, 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, tax, registration) are put on the same table. Full profile: author page.