The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) published three drafts on 16 October that turn a May 2026 amendment package into working rules. Comment closes on 14 November, and the guideline notices say changes are planned to take effect in late November 2026. The package stems from the Act amending the Urban Regeneration Special Measures Act and related laws (Act No. 23 of 2026), promulgated on 27 May 2026.
Historic districts: more property types, new proposal rights
The draft revision of the operating guideline for the historic townscape law lists the cultural-property types that can now anchor a municipality's key area. The amended law added important cultural landscapes, nationally registered tangible cultural properties, registered tangible folk cultural properties, registered monuments and properties designated by local governments. A municipality whose plan relies on one of these types must produce materials showing the property is the core of the area's historic character.
Residents gain a way in. Holders of ownership or certain leasehold rights can propose that a municipality draw up or change a plan, but only for land that could form a key area and that should be maintained and improved as one contiguous unit of at least 0.5 hectare, and only with the consent of two-thirds or more of the rights holders. Municipalities may lower the threshold to between 0.1 and 0.5 hectare by ordinance. An urban regeneration promotion corporation can also propose, with no minimum area, where the area overlaps a distinctive-charm area; for some property categories, the core cultural property itself must lie inside that area. The municipality must tell the proposer promptly whether it will act, and give reasons if it will not.
Landscapes: prefectures step in
The draft landscape guideline covers a new prefectural wide-area basic policy and a wide-area landscape council. Where such a policy exists, municipal landscape plans must follow it. The draft says prefectures should limit its area to what is needed, not the whole prefecture, and must hear from affected municipalities. The same draft covers municipalities that return landscape administration to the prefecture, with the prefecture's consent. It says that should happen only when truly needed.
The draft also describes landscape regeneration projects, in which a body renovates, manages and uses buildings on owners' behalf in areas hit by depopulation or ageing structures. The body that carries them out is renamed a landscape improvement promotion corporation, and companies aiming at good landscape can now be designated.
The ordinance: paperwork and terms
The MLIT draft ordinance amends enforcement rules under several laws. Among the additions are notification rules for distinctive-charm buildings, public-notice rules for agreements and a requirement that disaster-prevention facility management agreements run from five to 20 years. Under the Landscape Act rules, a regeneration agreement may run for five years or less. The draft also adds financial-support methods for a private urban development body.
Status and caveats
The two guideline drafts are technical advice to local governments, and their comment round is voluntary. The ordinance draft follows the Administrative Procedure Act and closes at 23:59 on 14 November. The ordinance draft leaves the effective day blank, within a window the overview describes as the law's enforcement date in late November 2026.