Resources
Guides, tools and documents for buying in Japan
Everything on this site that you can take away, forward to a client, or use before you speak to us: a buyer’s primer, the product flyer, real borrower journeys, guides from the Insights library, the two calculators and the regulatory documents.
Buyer’s primer · October 2026
Buying Property in Japan With Financing
A 13-page guide for overseas and foreign-resident buyers: how a purchase in Japan works, why domestic banks say no, and how YEN LOANS lends without the domestic prerequisites.
See the nine chapters
- What foreign buyers should know about the asset
- The lifestyle case
- What is specific to Japan
- How a purchase works
- Financing: the gap
- The company route
- How YEN LOANS assists
- Important lending information
- Where to start
Product flyer · All Japan Tracker
The product on one sheet
Rate basis, loan size, term, the LTV table, fees, eligible property and countries, and the registered disclosures — to keep, print, or forward to a broker or adviser.
Borrower journeys
Real loans, in the borrowers’ own words
Each one is a loan we have made, told by the borrower in an interview and published with their approval. Names, and anything that would identify the borrower or the property, are left out.
Living abroad, buying in Japan
Financing a Tokyo home before the move to Japan
An Australian abroad who expected to pay cash for his Tokyo apartment, then financed it on overseas income without a trip to Japan.
Read the journeyAn investment or second home
Financing a Tokyo rental apartment from the United States
An American couple who walked away from a cash purchase, then financed a renovated Tokyo apartment to let with a five-year interest-only loan.
Read the journeyBuying on a return to Japan
Buying a family home in Tokyo before moving back to Japan
A US-based family with ties to Japan who bought a Tokyo home well ahead of the move, borrowing part of the price to keep cash in hand.
Read the journeyPlanning to retire in Japan
Buying a home in Japan for retirement, from the United States
An American who once worked in Japan, financing a future retirement home from the United States after Japanese banks asked for income earned in Japan.
Read the journeyReleasing equity from a property you own
Releasing equity from a Tokyo apartment, years after leaving Japan
A US-based owner who kept a Tokyo apartment as a rental, then borrowed against it rather than sell with a tenant in place.
Read the journeyInsights
Guides to financing property in Japan
Answers to the questions buyers ask before they finance an apartment in Japan, whether they live here or overseas. Start with one guide from each topic.
Can I borrow?
Can a foreigner get a mortgage in Japan?
Who can borrow, which apartments qualify, the loan limits, the rate and how the process works from overseas.
Read the guideWhat it costs
How much cash you need to buy property in Japan
The loan-to-value limits, why the appraisal can come in below the price, and the other costs of buying.
Read the guideHow it works
Getting a mortgage in Japan from overseas
The steps, the documents and the timeline when you arrange the loan and settle without travelling to Japan.
Read the guideOwning in Japan
Refinancing and equity release in Japan
Moving an existing loan, or borrowing against an apartment you own without selling it: the limits, the term and the process.
Read the guideTools
Check where you stand before you apply
Two short tools, both run in your browser. Neither stores what you enter, and neither commits you to anything.
Eligibility check
About a minute: the property, borrower and income tests, with the full criteria beneath it.
Check your eligibilityMortgage calculators
Borrowing power from your income, or the indicative rate and monthly repayment on a specific property, in your own currency.
Open the calculatorReference
How it works in practice
- From inquiry to settlement, in four stepsThe documents at each step, and how settlement works in Japan without travelling.
- Questions borrowers ask before applyingThirty-five answers on who can borrow, the property, pricing, costs and taxes, and life during the loan.
- Every fee, set out in fullWhat YEN LOANS charges, when each fee is paid, and the other costs of buying in Japan.
Regulatory and company
The statutory documents
- 貸付条件・手数料・貸金業登録番号The regulator-approved Japanese disclosure: loan conditions, the fee table and the registration number.
- Company profile (会社概要)Registered office, representative, registration, JFSA membership and the designated credit bureau.
- Privacy policyHow personal information is collected, used and disclosed under Japan’s APPI. English and Japanese.
- Anti-Social Forces PolicyThe basic policy required of a registered money lender. English and Japanese.