If you live in Japan and want to get a mortgage to buy a home, most banks require either citizenship or permanent residency. Shinsei Bank will make an exception if your spouse is a Japanese citizen or permanent residence. Another group of banks don't require any of the above.

Here are the Japanese lenders I've found that do not require citizenship, permanent residency, or a Japanese spouse. Where only some of the bank's loan products are available to non-permanent residents, I've called out the name of the applicable product(s).

• Prestia

  • Detailed requirements for non-Japanese loan applicants

• Tokyo Star Bank - Star Home Loan

  • Detailed requirements are listed on the 商品説明書 (Product Manual) tab

• Saison Fundex - Home Loan

• SBJ Bank (Shinhan Bank Japan) - ANY Home Loan / ANY Home Loan Plus

  • Pamphlet dated April 2022 indicating that permanent residency is not a requirement (PDF)

• SMBC

  • FAQ stating that you do not need permanent residency to apply for a loan. Sounds more non-committal than some of the others.

• Kyojyu Loan

  • This page implies they may offer loans to people living in Japan without permanent residency. However, detailed requirements are not spelled out. The one-pager (PDF) for their My Home 100 loan actually lists Japanese citizenship or permanent residence as a requirement, so perhaps they make exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

Note that I have no experience actually trying to get a mortgage from any of these lenders. The information is provided as-is without endorsement or guarantee.

Helpful articles:

• https://diamond-fudosan.jp/articles/-/1111689 (Japanese)

• https://finance.recruit.co.jp/article/n045/ (Japanese)

Created 11/23/22