MUFG Invests $681M in Osaka Tower, Driving Japan’s Tokenized Real Estate Shift

• MUFG plans to tokenize the Osaka property into digital securities, offering broader investor accessibility.
• This initiative underscores rising demand for fractional ownership and private REITs in Japan's early-stage tokenized real estate market.

On June 27, 2025, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) announced its acquisition of an Osaka tower for over ¥100 billion ($681 million), a move set to shift Japan's digital real estate market. This acquisition is part of MUFG's broader strategy to tokenize the property, which will make fractional ownership available to retail investors while offering private REIT opportunities to institutional clients.

Through its tokenization plan, MUFG will target life insurance companies for institutional investment using a private REIT structure. For retail investors, the bank will provide access to fractional ownership through tokenized securities. This dual approach uses digital innovation to meet diverse investor needs in the real estate sector.

This move positions MUFG as a direct competitor to Mitsui & Co. Digital Asset Management, a leader in Japan’s real estate tokenization market. Mitsui recently ended its trust partnership with MUFG to develop an independent trust structure; however, it still relies on MUFG’s Progmat security token platform for its token issuances. MUFG spun off Progmat into a standalone entity but retains a 49% stake.

Japan's digital securities market has grown remarkably since its inception in 2020, with 139 issuances totaling ¥194 billion ($1.3 billion), of which real estate tokenization accounts for roughly 80%. The Osaka Digital Exchange (ODX) facilitates real estate token trading and currently lists seven such tokens, with a combined monthly trading volume of ¥23 million ($157,000).