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Japan Real Estate Prices (MLIT Official)

Extract official Japanese real estate transaction prices from the MLIT Real Estate Information Library API, operated by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT / 国土交通省). This actor provides structured access to actual transaction price data (not estimates) covering residential land, condos, commercial land, agricultural land, and forest land across all 47 Japanese prefectures from Q3 2005 onward. Results include 28 data fields per transaction with English language support, zoning details, and building specifications -- all from the official government API published under PDL 1.0 (commercial use permitted).

What is the MLIT Real Estate Information Library?

The Real Estate Information Library (不動産情報ライブラリ) is Japan's official government database of real estate transaction prices. Unlike commercial property sites that show listing prices (asking prices), this database contains actual recorded transaction prices from completed sales, making it the authoritative source for Japanese real estate market data.

Why use this actor instead of the API directly?

• English output -- The API supports English field values, but navigating the registration and parameters requires Japanese. This actor handles everything with English inputs.
• Smart area search -- Type "Tokyo", "東京都", or code "13" and the actor resolves it automatically. No need to look up prefecture or municipality codes.
• Bulk download -- Scan all 47 prefectures across multiple quarters in a single run. The API only supports one prefecture per call.
• Rate limiting built in -- The actor enforces proper request intervals and handles retries automatically.

Japan real estate data: official vs commercial sources

How to get Japanese real estate transaction data

1. Apply for a free API key at reinfolib.mlit.go.jp/api/request (approval takes approximately 5 business days)
2. Enter your API key in the input form
3. Type a prefecture name or code (e.g., 13 for Tokyo, Tokyo, or 東京都)
4. Click Start -- the actor scans the specified quarters and returns matching transactions

The prefilled example searches for Tokyo transactions. Just add your API key and run.

What data can you extract?

• Search by prefecture name (English or Japanese) or 2-digit code (e.g., 13 for Tokyo)
• Search by municipality code (5-digit, e.g., 13101 for Chiyoda Ward)
• Bulk download all 47 prefectures in a single run
• Filter by property type (residential land, condos, commercial, agricultural, forest)
• English or Japanese output via language toggle
• 28 data fields per transaction including price, area, floor plan, building year, structure, zoning
• Quarterly data from Q3 2005 to present
• Incremental output -- results appear in the dataset as they are found
• Real-time progress -- status messages show scan progress in the Apify console
• Built-in rate limiting and retry logic

Input parameters

Example: Tokyo residential transactions

{
"apiKey":"your-key-here",
"searchMode":"area",
"areaQuery":"13",
"propertyTypes":["residential_land"],
"yearFrom":2024,
"quarterFrom":1,
"yearTo":2024,
"quarterTo":4,
"language":"en"
}

Example: Bulk download all Japan, one quarter

{
"apiKey":"your-key-here",
"searchMode":"bulk",
"yearFrom":2024,
"quarterFrom":3,
"yearTo":2024,
"quarterTo":3
}

Sample output

The following is an illustrative example based on typical Tokyo transaction data.

{
"priceCategory":"Real Estate Transaction Price",
"propertyType":"Residential Land(Land and Building)",
"region":"Residential Area",
"municipalityCode":"13113",
"prefecture":"Tokyo",
"municipality":"Shibuya Ward",
"district":"Jingumae",
"tradePrice":"85000000",
"pricePerUnit":"1200000",
"unitPrice":"363000",
"floorPlan":"3LDK",
"area":"120",
"totalFloorArea":"95",
"buildingYear":"2018",
"structure":"RC",
"use":"House",
"purpose":null,
"landShape":"Square",
"frontage":"8.5",
"direction":"South",
"roadClassification":"Municipal Road",
"roadWidth":"6.0",
"cityPlanning":"Category I Exclusively Low-Rise Residential Zone",
"coverageRatio":"50",
"floorAreaRatio":"100",
"tradePeriod":"2024 Q3",
"renovation":null,
"remarks":null,
"dataSource":"Source: Created by processing data from the Real Estate Information Library (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) (https://www.reinfolib.mlit.go.jp/) PDL1.0"
}

Output: real estate transaction data fields

Each transaction in the dataset contains:

Understanding Japanese real estate data

What is a tsubo? A tsubo (坪) is a traditional Japanese unit of area equal to approximately 3.306 square meters (35.58 square feet). Property prices in Japan are often quoted per tsubo. The pricePerUnit field uses this unit.

What is LDK? Japanese floor plans use the notation L (Living), D (Dining), K (Kitchen). A "3LDK" means 3 rooms plus a combined living-dining-kitchen area. This is the standard way apartments are described in Japan.

What are coverage and floor area ratios? These are zoning restrictions under Japan's City Planning Act. Coverage ratio (建ぺい率) limits how much of the land a building can cover. Floor area ratio (容積率) limits total floor space relative to land area. For example, 50/100 means the building footprint can cover 50% of the land and total floor area can be 100% of land area.

Python API usage example

from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("rationalistic_counsel/mlit-japan-real-estate-prices").call(
 run_input={
"apiKey":"YOUR_MLIT_KEY",
"searchMode":"area",
"areaQuery":"13",
"yearFrom":2024,
"quarterFrom":1,
"yearTo":2024,
"quarterTo":4,
"language":"en",
}
)
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(f"{item['prefecture']}{item['municipality']} - {item['propertyType']}")
print(f" Price: JPY {item['tradePrice']}, Area: {item.get('area','N/A')} sqm")

All 47 Japanese prefectures and codes

How to get a free MLIT API key

1. Go to MLIT API Registration
2. Fill in the application form (individual or corporate)
3. Approval takes approximately 5 business days
4. Your Subscription Key will be emailed to you
5. The API is completely free with no usage fees

How much does it cost to scrape MLIT real estate data?

• Rate limiting: minimum 3 seconds between API calls
• Single prefecture, 1 year (4 quarters): 4 API calls, ~15 seconds, minimal Apify compute
• Single prefecture, 5 years (20 quarters): 20 API calls, ~1 minute, ~$0.01 Apify compute
• All 47 prefectures, 1 quarter: 47 API calls, ~3 minutes, ~$0.02 Apify compute
• All Japan, 1 year (bulk mode): 188 API calls, ~10 minutes, ~$0.05 Apify compute

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is MLIT? MLIT stands for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (国土交通省). It is the Japanese government ministry responsible for national land development, urban planning, construction, and real estate regulation.

Q: Are these real transaction prices or estimates? These are actual recorded transaction prices from completed real estate sales, not listing prices or AI estimates. The data is collected through surveys of actual transaction parties by MLIT.

Q: How current is the data? Data is published quarterly with a delay of approximately 3-6 months. For example, Q1 2025 transactions may become available around Q3-Q4 2025.

Q: Can I use this data commercially? Yes. The data is published under Japan's Public Data License 1.0 (PDL 1.0), which explicitly permits commercial use, redistribution, and modification with attribution. Each output record includes the required attribution in the dataSource field.

Q: What is a 3LDK apartment? LDK stands for Living-Dining-Kitchen. The number indicates additional rooms. A 3LDK has 3 rooms plus a combined living-dining-kitchen space. This is the standard Japanese real estate layout notation.

Q: What does the coverage ratio mean? The coverage ratio (建ぺい率) is a zoning restriction that limits the percentage of land area a building footprint can occupy. A 60% coverage ratio means the building can cover at most 60% of the plot.

Q: Why is some data missing (null fields)? Not all transactions have complete information. For example, land-only sales will not have floorPlan or buildingYear. Agricultural and forest land transactions typically have fewer fields than residential properties.

Q: Why do I get zero results for the current quarter? MLIT publishes data with a 3-6 month delay. For example, Q1 2026 transactions may not be available until Q3-Q4 2026. Try searching an earlier quarter.

Q: What if I get no results? Check that your date range includes published data (Q3 2005 onward), verify your area code is correct (use the prefecture table above), and note that the most recent quarters may not yet be published.

Q: Can I filter by price range? The MLIT API does not support price filtering at the query level. Download the data and filter locally by the tradePrice field. You can also use Apify dataset filtering features.

Q: Can I search for specific addresses? The MLIT API provides data at the district level, not individual addresses. Exact addresses are anonymized for privacy. You can search by prefecture, municipality, or district.

Q: How does this compare to REINS? REINS (Real Estate Information Network System) is an industry database accessible only to licensed real estate brokers. MLIT data is publicly available and covers a broader historical range, but REINS includes more recent and detailed listing data.

Who uses Japanese real estate transaction data?

• Foreign investors: Research Japanese property markets with English-language data
• Real estate analysts: Analyze price trends across prefectures and property types
• Academic researchers: Study Japanese housing markets, urbanization, and zoning effects
• PropTech developers: Build property valuation models with official transaction data
• Urban planners: Analyze land use patterns and price distributions
• Due diligence teams: Verify property valuations against actual transaction records

Integrations

This actor works with all Apify platform features:

• Schedule runs to check for new quarterly data automatically
• API access to trigger runs and fetch results programmatically (Python, Node.js, REST API)
• Webhooks to get notified when new data is available
• Export results to Google Sheets, CSV, JSON, Excel, or databases
• Integrate with data analysis tools, dashboards, and AI/LLM pipelines

Legal

This actor accesses publicly available data from the MLIT Real Estate Information Library, a government-operated data service. The data is published under the Public Data License 1.0 (PDL1.0), which permits commercial use, redistribution, and modification with attribution. Each output record includes a dataSource field for compliance.

This service uses the Real Estate Information Library API but makes no warranty regarding the timeliness, accuracy, or completeness of the provided data.

Users must provide their own MLIT API key obtained from reinfolib.mlit.go.jp/api/request and are responsible for complying with the MLIT API Terms of Use.

This actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan.