Where Taiwanese professionals stumble on Japan's registration and the title deed

In short: Taiwan's "title deed (權狀 / certificate of ownership)" and Japan's "registration identification information" are both tools that show the owner's identity, but their nature differs. In 2004 Japan's Real Property Registration Act reform abolished the paper title deed (登記済証) and switched to a 12-character alphanumeric registration identification code. The authoritative record of ownership is the register; even if you lose the deed or the code, you can still sell — via prior notice or a qualified agent's identity-verification information. In Japan the agent who may file a transfer of ownership is a judicial scrivener, and Taiwan's land agent (地政士) cannot act as agent for Japanese registration. As background between professionals, this article sets out the differences from the statutes.

This article is for local professionals in Taiwan — land agents (地政士) and lawyers (律師) — who handle Japanese real estate and inheritance cases, comparing the registration systems of Taiwan (with a land-agent system and a title deed) and Japan. The judgment of whether a Japanese registration can actually be carried out is reserved to a judicial scrivener. Taiwan's system is touched on only for contrast, without assertion.

What differs between Taiwan's title deed and Japan's registration identification information?

In Taiwan, the land administration office issues a paper "certificate of ownership (權狀)" to the owner. It is used in transactions and registration; if lost, you can apply for re-issue (補發), issued after a 30-day public notice. Separately, there is the land register transcript (謄本, the official record of the land administration), and the deed and the transcript play different roles.

Japan, too, once issued a paper "registration completion certificate (登記済証, the so-called title deed)." But the 2004 (Heisei 16) full reform of the Real Property Registration Act (Act No. 123 of 2004; the registration-identification-information system for online applications took effect on 7 March 2005) abolished the title deed and switched to "registration identification information." This is a 12-character alphanumeric code.

	Taiwan	Japan (from 2005)
Tool given to the owner	Certificate of ownership (paper title deed)	Registration identification information (12-character code)
When issued	Deed issued on completion of registration	Notified to the registered holder on completion (Real Property Registration Act Art. 21)
Authoritative record	Land register transcript (land-administration record)	The register = registration record (checked via a certificate of registered matters)
If lost	Re-issue (補發) after a 30-day public notice	Not re-issued; a separate identity check is used at sale

Here is the first misunderstanding. Japan's registration identification information is a code that "is not re-issued"; there is no re-issue system like the paper deed. Once notified, you manage the code itself strictly. Points where Taiwanese professionals stumble in Japanese transactions, including co-brokerage practice, are set out at co-brokerage and referral fees with Chinese-speaking real estate professionals.

Why can you sell in Japan even without the title deed?

Because the deed / registration identification information is not a "certificate of ownership" but a tool to show that the registration obligor (the seller) is the person, when applying for a registration such as a transfer of ownership. What publicly attests ownership is the register (registration record), which anyone can obtain as a certificate of registered matters.

Article 22 of the Real Property Registration Act requires the registration obligor's registration identification information to be provided in a joint application such as a sale, but where "there is a justifiable reason," it need not be provided. Alternatives where the information cannot be provided are set out in Article 23.

Alternative	Basis	Outline
Prior notice	Real Property Registration Act Art. 23(1)	The registrar notifies the obligor that "an application has been filed"; if the person confirms within the period, the registration proceeds
Qualified agent's identity-verification information	Art. 23(4), item 1	A judicial scrivener etc. verifies identity and provides the information, dispensing with prior notice
Notary's authentication	Art. 23(4), item 2	Where the obligor obtains a notary's authentication

In other words, even if you lose the registration identification information, the sale itself can proceed. If you carry over the Taiwanese sense that "losing the 權狀 requires re-issue" and think "no title deed means the Japanese property cannot be sold," you misread the practice. Which alternative to use is the judgment of the registration specialist. The full picture of an overseas owner managing and disposing of a Japanese property is at managing Japanese real estate for owners living abroad.

Who acts as agent for a transfer of ownership? Can a land agent (地政士) do it?

In Japan, the agent who may file a registration application such as a transfer of ownership is a judicial scrivener. Article 3(1), item 1 of the Judicial Scriveners Act (Act No. 197 of 1950) makes "acting as agent for procedures relating to registration or deposit" a judicial scrivener's business, and item 2 covers "preparing documents to be submitted or provided to the Legal Affairs Bureau or a District Legal Affairs Bureau."

Taiwan's land agent (地政士), under Article 16 of the Land Administration Agents Act, undertakes agency for Taiwanese land registration and the preparation of real-estate contracts, but this is a Taiwanese qualification, not a qualification to act as agent for Japanese registration. Japanese registration is entrusted to a Japanese judicial scrivener. It is easy to confuse "land agent = can also do Japanese registration."

Dividing the roles on the Japanese side:

Procedure	Who handles it in Japan
Agency for transfer / inheritance registration	Judicial scrivener
Sale contract and important-matters explanation (Real Estate Brokerage Act Art. 35)	Real estate transaction specialist (us)
Preparation of an estate-division agreement and other rights-and-duties documents	Administrative scrivener
Inheritance-tax / capital-gains-tax filing	Tax accountant
Disputes / negotiation among heirs	Lawyer

When a Taiwanese heir disposes of a Japanese property, what does registration require?

When an heir living in Taiwan inherits and sells a Japanese property, the basic order is to first enter the inheritance registration, then proceed to the sale. In Japan, inheritance registration became mandatory from 1 April 2024 (Real Property Registration Act Art. 76-2): you must apply within three years from the day you learn you have acquired ownership by inheritance, and failure without justifiable reason is subject to a non-penal fine of up to 100,000 yen. Even on the premise of selling, inheritance registration cannot be skipped.

Where overseas heirs stumble is the absence of a document equivalent to Japan's seal certificate. In practice, you obtain a signature certificate (signature attestation) or a certificate of residence at the overseas mission (embassy/consulate) of your place of residence as a substitute. The estate-division agreement is prepared by an administrative scrivener, the registration application by a judicial scrivener; if there is a dispute, it moves to a lawyer. Material for deciding whether to sell or keep an inherited family home is at the fork of selling, leasing or keeping an inherited home.

Note that Taiwan's household registration, proof of inheritance capacity and identification of heirs follow the Taiwanese system, so in practice the local qualified professional (land agent / lawyer) and the Japanese judicial scrivener and administrative scrivener divide the roles. Whether the Japanese registration can be carried out is confirmed with a judicial scrivener.

As a professional, who on the Japanese side do you assign what?

Investigation of the Japanese property, brokerage, and the sale contract and important-matters explanation (Real Estate Brokerage Act Art. 35) are handled by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent, Tokyo Governor (1) No. 113304). Preparation of documents submitted to public offices or the counterparty, such as an estate-division agreement, is handled by Yotsuba Administrative Scrivener Office. Agency for transfer / inheritance registration goes to a judicial scrivener, inheritance and capital-gains tax to a tax accountant, and disputes among heirs to a lawyer.

The real estate agent and the administrative scrivener office are independent business entities. You engage each directly. We neither pay nor accept referral fees or introduction commissions. With Taiwanese land agents and lawyers, we cooperate by dividing the local-side and Japanese-side procedures. The flow of selling inherited real estate is also set out at when a Taiwanese heir inherits Japanese real estate, and the whole picture of inheritance and real estate at the inheritance consultation desk. Consultation is free of charge.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is Japan's title deed (registration completion certificate) still issued?
A. No. The 2004 full reform of the Real Property Registration Act abolished the registration completion certificate; from 7 March 2005, registration identification information (a 12-character code) is notified to the registered holder on completion (Art. 21). Deeds issued earlier remain valid, but no new title deed is issued.

Q. If I lose the registration identification information, can the Japanese property no longer be sold?
A. It can be sold. The information is not a certificate of ownership but a tool to show the registration obligor's identity when applying. Where it cannot be provided, alternatives are prior notice (Art. 23(1)), a qualified agent's identity-verification information (Art. 23(4), item 1), and a notary's authentication (item 2). There is no re-issue system like Taiwan's 權狀.

Q. Can a Taiwanese land agent act as agent for a Japanese transfer of ownership?
A. No. In Japan, only a judicial scrivener may act as agent for a registration application (Judicial Scriveners Act Art. 3(1), item 1). A land agent is a Taiwanese qualification, undertaking Taiwanese land registration etc. under Article 16 of the Land Administration Agents Act. Japanese registration is entrusted to a Japanese judicial scrivener.

Q. How does an heir living in Taiwan start to sell a Japanese property?
A. Enter the inheritance registration first, then proceed to the sale. From 1 April 2024 inheritance registration is mandatory (Art. 76-2), with application required within three years of learning of the acquisition. Overseas heirs obtain a signature certificate / certificate of residence at an overseas mission in lieu of a seal certificate; the estate-division agreement is by an administrative scrivener and the registration by a judicial scrivener.

Sources (primary)

• e-Gov "Real Property Registration Act" — Act No. 123 of 2004. Art. 21 (notice of registration identification information to the registered holder on completion); Art. 22 (provision of the information in a joint application; not required where there is a justifiable reason); Art. 23 (prior notice; qualified agent's identity-verification information; notary's authentication); Art. 76-2 (duty to apply for inheritance registration within three years). Accessed 29 August 2026.
• e-Gov "Judicial Scriveners Act" — Act No. 197 of 1950. Art. 3(1), item 1 (agency for procedures relating to registration or deposit); item 2 (preparation of documents submitted/provided to the Legal Affairs Bureau etc.). Accessed 29 August 2026.
• e-Gov "Real Estate Brokerage Act" — Act No. 176 of 1952. Art. 35 (explanation of important matters — the transaction specialist delivers and explains a document before the sale/lease contract is concluded). Accessed 29 August 2026.
• Taiwan "Land Administration Agents Act" (Art. 16 = scope of a land agent's business — agency for land registration, preparation of real-estate contracts, etc.). Referred to for contrast, showing it is a Taiwanese qualification, not one to act as agent for Japanese registration. Accessed 29 August 2026.
• Re-issue (補發) of Taiwan's certificate of ownership (權狀) is operated through a 30-day public notice at the land administration office (per each office's guidance). Referred to for contrast with the absence of any re-issue system for Japan's registration identification information. Accessed 29 August 2026.

The Taiwanese systems of registration, title deed and inheritance capacity are outlined only for contrast. Confirm the application and interpretation of Taiwan's system with a local qualified professional (land agent / lawyer); this article does not judge it. Whether a Japanese registration can be carried out, and the specific required documents, vary with the individual facts and the operation of the competent registry; final confirmation rests with a judicial scrivener and the registry. This article is general information; it does not judge or guarantee the feasibility of any particular transaction or registration. Registration is the domain of a judicial scrivener, tax of a tax accountant, and disputes of a lawyer. Investigation and brokerage and the sale contract are by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (licensed real estate agent); preparation of the estate-division agreement and other public-office 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 registration/administrative procedures are put on the same table. Full profile: author page.