[National Survey on Inheritance and End-of-Life Planning 2026 - 1st Report] Three Years Since Enforcement of Inheritance Land National Reversion System: Applications Increase, but Awareness Remains Around 10%

Lulian Co., Ltd. (Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture; Representative Director, Chairman & CEO: Yonetaka Fujimaki), which operates the inheritance and end-of-life planning platforms "Minna no Souzoku Madoguchi" and "Minna no Shūkatsu Madoguchi," conducted a "National Survey on Inheritance and End-of-Life Planning 2026" targeting 15,244 people (including 1,053 who experienced inheritance due to a parent's death). This is the first report of the results, released ahead of the third anniversary of the enforcement of the "Inheritance Land National Reversion System" on April 27, and reports on the system's awareness and the reality of real estate management based on data from those who experienced inheritance due to a parent's death. **Survey Summary** **[1] Even after experiencing inheritance, 52.6% are still "unaware of major systems."** **[2] 16.1% of inherited parental homes are unregistered, with over half (52.9%) left unattended for "5 years or more."** **[3] 48.8% requested professional support for inheritance procedures due to "lack of knowledge."** **Survey Results** **[1] Even after experiencing inheritance, 52.6% are still "unaware of major systems."** The "Inheritance Land National Reversion System," enforced in April 2023, will mark its third anniversary on April 27. According to Ministry of Justice data (※1), the number of applications since the system's inception has exceeded 5,000, and the number of reversions to the state has surpassed 2,000, indicating concrete progress toward resolving the issue of ownerless land. Amidst this, we surveyed 1,053 individuals with inheritance experience regarding their awareness of five major inheritance-related systems (annual gift tax exemption, inheritance tax settlement system, special provisions for small-scale residential land, inheritance registration, and the Inheritance Land National Reversion System). Only 9.2% of respondents stated they "know" about the Inheritance Land National Reversion System. While the number of system uses is increasing, its awareness remains below 10%. Furthermore, 52.6% of respondents answered that they "do not know any of these systems," indicating that the systems have not yet sufficiently permeated even among those who have experienced inheritance. **[2] 16.1% of inherited parental homes are unregistered, with over half (52.9%) left unattended for "5 years or more."** We surveyed the current status of inherited parental homes. 16.1% of respondents answered that they "have not performed name change (registration)." The breakdown is as follows: * Self-occupied but unregistered: 6.2% * Occupied by relatives but unregistered: 6.7% * Vacant house but unregistered: 3.2% Ownerless land, primarily caused by uncompleted inheritance registration, accounts for approximately 23% of the total national land (about 4.1 million hectares), an area larger than the main island of Kyushu (※2). **** The most common period for properties left unregistered was "15 years or more" (22.4%), and it was revealed that over half (52.9%) have been left unattended for 5 years or more. Furthermore, when looking at the percentage of properties left unattended for 5 years or more by their "current state," it was about half not only for vacant houses (47.1%) but also for properties that are "self-occupied" (53.8%) and "occupied by relatives" (54.9%). * Our inheritance platform "Minna no Souzoku Madoguchi" strictly adheres to relevant laws such as the Judicial Scrivener Act and does not handle procedures such as "real estate registration," which is the exclusive business of judicial scriveners. **[3] For inheritance procedures, approximately half requested professional support due to "lack of knowledge."** We surveyed whether respondents requested professional support during their previous inheritance due to a parent's death. As a result, 48.8% of respondents answered that they "requested a professional." The top three reasons for requesting a professional (n=514) are as follows: 1. Did not have sufficient knowledge to proceed with the procedures themselves (49.2%) 2. Felt it was more reliable and secure to leave it to a professional (33.1%) 3. Felt it was troublesome to proceed with the procedures themselves (23.9%) Regarding cancellation and name change procedures, financial asset-related procedures occupied the top three items that respondents answered "took time." 1. Deposit accounts such as banks, credit unions, and postal savings 2. Various insurances such as life insurance and non-life insurance 3. Securities accounts such as stocks, investment trusts, and government bonds at securities companies (※1) Ministry of Justice "Statistics on Inheritance Land National Reversion System" https://www.moj.go.jp/MINJI/minji05_00579.html As of January 31, 2026 (※2) Government Public Relations Online "Ownerless Land: Occurring Nationwide Due to Unregistered Inheritance and Address Changes"