This article analyzes Asset Valuation Information Issue 267 published by the Asset Valuation System Research Center in July 2025, focusing on efforts toward appropriate taxation in a depopulating society and real estate management challenges.
In a report by Junichi Sato, Tax Administration Supervisor of Sendai City Finance Bureau, Sendai City is introduced as having created the City of Trees through 136 years since municipal incorporation and 36 years since becoming a designated city, overcoming trials including the Great East Japan Earthquake. Through the Sendai Downtown Reconstruction Project, full-scale operation of the next-generation synchrotron radiation facility NanoTerrace, and support for forming cutting-edge research complexes with Tohoku University's recognition as an internationally outstanding research university, regional economic revitalization is being pursued. Fixed asset tax and city planning tax revenues continue to increase due to continuous land price rises and new construction impacts, becoming important independent revenue sources accounting for over 40% of total municipal tax revenue.
Meanwhile, challenges include declining skills of staff due to veteran employee retirements and increased administrative burden from growing numbers of building assessments. Efficiency improvements are being promoted including creation of specialized departments for large-scale building assessment, depreciable asset taxation, and current owner investigation, RPA utilization in Article 408 surveys, and open data conversion of lot number maps. Professor Hiroko Saito of Yokohama City University's School of International Liberal Arts analyzes proper management in the real estate stock era. The enactment of four condominium laws (Sectional Ownership Act, Disaster-Affected Sectional Ownership Act, Condominium Management Optimization Act, Condominium Revitalization Act) and Housing Finance Support Agency Act amendments on May 23, 2025, suggest a new era for real estate, with approximately 7 million condominium stock units currently facing changes including aging and height diversification from increasing tower condominiums.
Other content includes detailed coverage of the national property exchange fund system overview by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Autonomous Tax Administration Bureau, points to note regarding the 2027 fixed asset revaluation, evaluation of liquefaction-damaged land from the Noto Peninsula earthquake, application of necessary corrections in Niigata City, fixed asset tax initiatives in Obanazawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, and EBPM (Evidence-Based Policy Making) effectiveness verification of tax burden reduction measures.
The article shows that appropriate operation of the fixed asset tax system and proper real estate management in a depopulating society are important for maintaining administrative service quality with limited staff and securing sustainable fiscal foundations.