Japan real estate consultants: what foreign buyers should watch out for

In Japan, "real estate consultant," "buyer's advocate," and "property advisor" are not regulated titles. Anyone can use them — a licensed brokerage, a relocation firm, a YouTuber, or an individual with a website. That is not automatically a problem, but it means the label alone tells you nothing about what the person can legally do or whether they stand behind the transaction.

The regulated title is different. Brokering property is governed by the Building Lots and Buildings Transaction Business Act (takchi tatemono torihiki gyoho, 宅地建物取引業法), usually shortened to takken. That law decides who can broker a deal, who must explain the contract, and who carries the liability if something goes wrong.

So the first question is never "is this person a good consultant?" It is "who is the licensed party in this transaction, and what is the consultant doing on top of that?"

Under the takken law, a company must hold a business license (takchi tatemono torihikigyo menkyo, 宅地建物取引業免許) to broker real estate. Within that company, a qualified takken specialist (takken shi, 宅地建物取引士) must personally deliver the mandatory Important Matters Explanation (juyo jiko setsumei, 重要事項説明) before you sign — a formal disclosure of the property's legal, physical, and contractual facts.

An unlicensed consultant cannot do these things. They cannot act as the broker, cannot deliver the Important Matters Explanation, and cannot collect the regulated brokerage commission. Just as importantly, they carry no legal liability for the regulated parts of the transaction. If the deal has a problem, your recourse runs through the licensed brokerage — not the consultant you may have paid the most.

Here is the part many foreign buyers do not realize. A licensed Japanese real estate agent who speaks English can typically handle all of the following as part of the ordinary brokerage service — the one paid for by the regulated commission, not a separate advisory fee.

The brokerage commission itself is capped by law — for most sales, roughly 3% of the price plus ¥60,000, plus consumption tax. On land or buildings priced at or under ¥8 million, a special in force since 1 July 2024 can raise that cap to ¥330,000 including tax from each side. That fee is not optional overhead you can avoid by hiring a consultant; it pays for the licensed professional who legally has to run the regulated steps anyway. The worked numbers, and the questions to ask any website that sits between you and that fee, are in What to ask before paying for an akiya platform.

So the real question follows naturally: if someone without a license is charging you thousands of dollars, are they providing services your licensed agent does not — or are they reselling information already available through an experienced English-speaking brokerage? For a broader view of the process, see our Japan property buyer question guide.

You do not need to be an expert in Japanese law to protect yourself. You just need to ask a few direct questions and get the answers in writing. A licensed brokerage must display its license number — usually formatted as "Governor (n) No. xxxxx" or "Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (n) No. xxxxx" — and you can verify it with the relevant prefecture before paying anything.

Ask whether they are licensed. Understand exactly what you are paying for. And do not confuse marketing with necessity. The goal is not to avoid paying for help — it is to pay for help that is real. If you are still weighing whether Japan ownership fits your plans at all, start with whether buying an akiya is right for you.

Akiya X exists to remove the opacity that expensive middlemen depend on. You can research, score, and shortlist properties yourself, in English, before you commit to any fee — so when you do work with a licensed agent, you already know what you are looking at.