We Mapped 2,966 Unused National-Owned Properties Nationwide

Hello from the MAPRISE team. If someone asked you how much land the Japanese government owns but doesn't use, could you name a number? The answer is 2,966 properties.

Using open data published by Japan's Ministry of Finance, we've now published the locations and attributes of these 2,966 properties as a map layer.

What this data is

The source is the Ministry of Finance's "Per-Property National Property Information (FY2024 edition) — General Property" (published via e-Gov, CC BY licensed). It's a snapshot as of the end of FY2023 (March 2024), covering properties under the Ministry of Finance's jurisdiction, in the general account, classified as general property in the "unused" category.

We want to be clear about one thing up front: this is not a "list of properties you can buy right now." It's an inventory of unused land the government holds, and being listed here doesn't mean a property is actually in the process of being sold. Please keep in mind throughout this post that inclusion in this layer does not mean a property is currently open for application.

Here's the breakdown by regional finance bureau:

What you can see on the map

This layer sits inside the "Parcel Numbers & Development Candidates (Selected Areas)" layer menu, under "National-Owned Property for Sale (Ministry of Finance)."

Turning the toggle on shows green markers on the map. There are two kinds: a filled circle means "identified down to the parcel number (actual location)," and a hollow circle overlaid with a faint ring means "identified only to the neighborhood/district level (approximate location)."

To be candid about this: of the 2,966 properties nationwide, only 1,590 have a location we can show on the map. The remaining 1,376 are recorded in the published source only down to a parcel-number-style address, which we couldn't mechanically translate into a map location. Not placing something on the map as if we know its location when we don't — that's a design principle we hold to consistently at MAPRISE, not just for this layer.

What clicking a property tells you

Clicking a marker on the map opens a popup with the property's details. Here's what that actually looks like.

In the example at 3-34-1 Chayama, Jonan Ward, Fukuoka City, you can check the responsible finance bureau (Fukuoka Local Finance Branch Bureau, main office), land area (28,326.74 sq. m), building area, city-planning designation and use-zoning (urbanization promotion area, Category 1 medium-to-high-rise exclusive residential district), and building coverage ratio / floor area ratio (60% / 100%). Fill rates for these attributes are 100% for city-planning area and use-zoning, and 93.6% for building coverage ratio and floor area ratio.

There's one thing we need to be explicit about here. The "book value" shown in the popup is not a sale price. It's strictly an accounting reference figure, and it is a different thing from the actual minimum sale price a property might eventually be listed at. We've confirmed at least one past case where book value and the actual minimum sale price diverged by as much as 61%. Treat it as one reference point for early-stage site screening, and always check each finance bureau's official published materials for the actual transaction terms.

Distribution across the country

Looking at the nationwide distribution, a clear regional skew emerges.

Coverage is especially dense in the greater Tokyo area — the Kanto Finance Bureau alone accounts for 56% of the total (1,674 of 2,966 properties).

There's also a meaningful concentration in the Kansai region.

In Kyushu, we also see properties scattered around Kitakyushu City and Shimonoseki City. This distribution itself visualizes, on a map rather than just in numbers, the fact that national-owned land isn't spread evenly across the country.

Who this is useful for, and how

Homebuilders and construction firms: In land acquisition, finding out about a property only after a public offering begins means you're already behind in a competitive bid. Being able to see in advance where land that might eventually be sold is located lets you get ahead of that. Because use-zoning, building coverage ratio, and floor area ratio are all visible on the same screen, you can make a first-pass buildability judgment on the spot.

Developers: When searching for suitable development sites, being able to overlay hazard information, geology, and nearby transaction prices gives you decision-making material that a standalone property listing site can't offer.

Financial institutions: As material for collateral valuation or understanding regional real-estate trends, the distribution of national-owned land can serve as one indicator of a region's land-use structure.

Real-estate agents: When researching a property, knowing whether unused national-owned land exists nearby is worth tracking as a potential factor in how the surrounding area might change in the future.

Municipalities: When considering location-optimization policy or reorganizing public facilities, this gives you a way to survey how much national-owned land exists within your jurisdiction.

The general public: We also welcome anyone simply curious about how much land the national government holds in their own town.

What makes this a MAPRISE feature, specifically

You can already find lists like this in the Ministry of Finance's own published materials, or on existing aggregator sites. What we think is specific to MAPRISE is that this doesn't stop at being a standalone list — it can be overlaid with more than 50 existing layers. You can cross-reference it against use-zoning, hazards, nearby transaction prices, population projections, and PLATEAU building models on the same screen, then compare with split-screen views, analyze it through the AI chat, or turn it into a generated PDF report.

What's next

We're considering a few directions. We're looking into overlaying properties currently listed as "open for application" by the finance bureaus (141 as of now). Expanding coverage to include municipal land-sale listings is also something we're considering. We also plan to keep working on improving location-identification accuracy, which currently covers only 1,590 of the 2,966 properties. None of this is a finalized plan, and we can't commit to specific timing for any of it.

Source and disclaimer

This layer is created by processing the Ministry of Finance's "Per-Property National Property Information." The information shown here is reference information only — always check each finance bureau's official published materials for the most current and accurate details. Inclusion in this layer does not mean a property is currently open for application.

Note on coverage shown: Without signing in, this layer displays properties in the 7 Kyushu prefectures only. Properties across all 47 prefectures are available after signing in (Starter or above will be required once the beta period ends). The record counts in this article refer to nationwide coverage and differ from what is visible without signing in.

Questions or feedback are always welcome at info@maprise.jp.

The national-owned property information introduced in this post is created by processing the Ministry of Finance's "Per-Property National Property Information (FY2024 edition) — General Property" (published via e-Gov, CC BY licensed). Record counts and breakdowns are based on a snapshot as of the end of FY2023 (March 2024) and reflect the time of this post's publication; they may change as the source agency updates its published materials. Descriptions of potential industry use cases represent general illustrative scenarios and do not guarantee applicability to any specific business use.