REALWorld Law

Which other statutory permit regimes must be considered in relation to planning/zoning and development?

Strategic planning/zoning in Japan is governed by a combination of national and local regulations. The national regulations mainly consist of (i) the Building Standards Act (BSA) and (ii) the City Planning Act (CPA).

The CPA divides lands in Japan into two types: City Planning Areas, which are regulated by the CPA; and Non-City Planning Areas, which are not regulated by the CPA.

The City Planning Areas further consist of Urbanization Promotion Areas where development is promoted and Urbanization Restricted Areas where development is restricted. 

The CPA designates 13 zoning districts within Urbanization Promotion Areas, and such zoning districts are largely categorized as three types: residential districts, commercial districts and industrial districts. The BSA governs types of buildings which can be built in each zoning districts designated by the CPA, such as use purposes, building coverage ratio and floor area ratio of a building.

Last modified 22 Mar 2024

Which other statutory permit regimes must be considered in relation to planning/zoning and development?

Yes, the BSA and the CPA control the new construction and refurbishment. Especially, except for a few types of construction specified in the BSA, a construction permit from the relevant local government or the designated inspection agency is required before any construction of a new building or any refurbishment of an existing building.

Apart from the construction permit under the BSA, the contractor must obtain a permission from the relevant local government under the CPA for certain large-scale construction works within the Urbanization Promotion Area.

Last modified 22 Mar 2024

Which other statutory permit regimes must be considered in relation to planning/zoning and development?

Yes. Both the CPA and the Landscape Act regulate the design and appearance of the landscape of designated scenic zones, whereas methods of construction generally are not regulated.

Last modified 22 Mar 2024

Which other statutory permit regimes must be considered in relation to planning/zoning and development?

Yes. The CPA governs the use purposes of new buildings as well as existing buildings and permitted use purposes of a building depends on the district where the building is built or located.

As mentioned above, there are largely three types of districts: residential districts, commercial districts and industrial districts. For example, hospitals, schools and nursery homes are prohibited in some industrial districts and large-scale supermarkets can only be built in certain commercial districts.

Last modified 22 Mar 2024

Which other statutory permit regimes must be considered in relation to planning/zoning and development?

In general, local governments are responsible for regulating the development and use purposes of land parcels.  Local governments have authority under the BSA and the CPA to grant construction permit to contractors.   

Last modified 22 Mar 2024

Which other statutory permit regimes must be considered in relation to planning/zoning and development?

This depends on the nature of the development and should be determined on a case-by-case basis.  Legal requirements may include various kinds of environmental permits. For example, if development involves use of agricultural land, a permission from the agricultural committee under the Agricultural Land Act will be required.

Last modified 22 Mar 2024