Overview

• Hokkaido said on Oct. 3 it began stricter operation of its ordinance governing land transactions in areas tied to regional water sources and forested watersheds.
• The revised administrative procedures allow earlier recommendations and public identification of sellers or developers who fail to file required notifications.
• The ordinance requires sellers to notify the prefecture up to three months before signing contracts in 66 designated municipalities.
• Officials acknowledged the previous bar for issuing recommendations was so high that no cases advanced to name-and-shame disclosures.
• The change follows multiple legal violations confirmed in June in the Niseko area, which exposed weak deterrence under the prior approach.