MUFG, the top bank in Japan, to digitize property ownership for smaller investors through tokenization
Mitsui Digital Asset Management (Mitsui) has been actively engaged in real estate tokenization in Japan, with 16 issuances through its Alterna platform as of July 2025. This direct-to-retail solution for real estate tokenization has been a significant stride in the digital securities market.
Until June 2025, Mitsui partnered with MUFG Trust Banking for the trust service required to tokenize real estate assets. However, seeking faster issuance, Mitsui established its own trust structure called Alterna Trust, effectively moving away from reliance on MUFG Trust.
Despite this separation, Mitsui and MUFG Trust Banking maintain an indirect relationship. MUFG spun off Progmat, its digital securities platform, retaining a 42% stake. Mitsui continues to use Progmat for most of its security token issuance under a recent agreement.
In Japan, tokenized real estate is more common than digital bonds for tokenization. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, a division of MUFG, has acquired a high rise in Osaka City for over Yen 100 billion ($681 million). The acquired high rise will be sold to life insurers as a private real estate investment trust (REIT) on the institutional front, with plans to create digital securities and sell tokenized real estate to both retail and institutional investors.
Approximately 20% of these digital securities issuances in Japan were bonds, with most of the rest in real estate. Since the first digital securities offering was launched in 2021, there have been 63 issuances in Japan totaling Yen 194 billion ($1.3 billion). Mitsui has accounted for 14 out of Mitsui's 16 issuances through the Alterna platform.
The Japanese market for tokenized real estate is still nascent, with modest secondary trading volumes. The Osaka Digital Exchange's START marketplace, for instance, has six real estate tokens listed with monthly trading volumes of Yen 23 million ($157,000).
This arrangement reflects a nuanced relationship where competition and cooperation coexist. Mitsui seeks more control over issuance speed, while MUFG remains involved via its digital securities infrastructure. The future of this relationship and the tokenized real estate market in Japan remains to be seen.
| Aspect | Status as of July 2025 | |----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------| | Mitsui’s real estate tokenization | Active via Alterna platform, 16 issuances total (14 on Alterna) | | Relationship with MUFG Trust Banking | Previously partnered for trust services; now Mitsui has own trust (Alterna Trust) | | Continued collaboration | Mitsui uses MUFG’s Progmat platform (MUFG holds 42% stake) |
- Mitsui's continuous collaboration with MUFG Trust Banking can be observed through their agreement to use Progmat, the digital securities platform spin-off by MUFG, for most of Mitsui's security token issuances.
- Despite the establishment of Alterna Trust, Mitsui's direct-to-retail solution for real estate tokenization, the company still finds value in the finance and technology expertise provided by MUFG Trust, helping to fuel faster issuance and insights.
- In addition to real estate, financial tokenization in Japan has also seen the issuance of digital bonds, although the market for tokenized real estate—especially retail tokenization—is still in its infancy, displaying potential for significant growth.
