An owner has the rights to freely use, profit from and dispose of the thing owned, within the limits of laws and regulations.

Ownership in land extends to above and below the surface of the land, within the limits of laws and regulations.

①An owner of land may use the neighboring land to the extent necessary for the following purposes; provided, however, that the owner may not enter the dwelling house of the resident without the approval of the resident:

②In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, the date and time, place, and method of use is to be chosen which causes the least damage to the owner of the neighboring land and to the person who is actually using the neighboring land (referred to as "user of the neighboring land" in this Article below).

③A person who uses the neighboring land pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) must notify the owner and user of the neighboring land in advance of the purpose, date and time, place, and method of the use; provided, however, that if it is difficult to give notice in advance, it is sufficient to give notice without delay after starting the use.

④In the case referred to in paragraph (1), if the owner or user of the neighboring land suffers damages, they may claim compensation.

①An owner of land that is surrounded by other land and has no access to a public road may pass through the other land that surrounds that owner's land to reach a public road.

②The preceding paragraph also applies if an owner cannot reach a public road without passing over a pond, lake, river, waterway, or sea, or if there is an extreme difference in height between the land and the public road on account of a cliff.

①In the cases referred to in the preceding Article, the location and method of passage must be chosen so as to meet the needs of the person that is entitled to the right-of-way under the provisions of that Article and cause the least damage to the other land.

②A person that holds the right-of-way under the provisions of the preceding Article may construct a road if necessary.

A person that is entitled to the right-of-way under the provisions of Article 210 must pay compensation for damage caused to the other land that the same person passes through; provided, however, that except for damage arising from the construction of a road, compensation may be paid on an annual basis.

①If the partition of land creates a parcel of land that has no access to public roads, the owner of that parcel of land may pass to the public roads only through the lands owned by another person that participated in the partition. In this case, it is necessary to pay compensation.

②The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis if the owner of land transfers part of the land to another person.

①If an owner of land is unable to receive electricity, gas or tap water supply or any other continuous supply equivalent thereto (referred to as "continuous supply" in this paragraph and paragraph (1) of the following Article) without installing facilities on other land or using facilities owned by another person, the owner of land may install facilities on the other land or use facilities owned by the other person to the extent necessary to receive continuous supply.

②In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, the place and method of installation or use of the facilities are to be chosen which causes the least damage to other land or facilities owned by the other person (referred to as "other land, etc." in the following paragraph).

③A person who installs facilities on other land or uses facilities owned by another person pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) must notify in advance the owner of other land, etc. and the person who is actually using the other land of the purpose, place and method of the installation or use.

④In order to install facilities on other land or to use facilities owned by another person pursuant to the provisions of the same paragraph, a person who has the right pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) may use the other land in question or the land on which the facilities owned by the other person in question are located. In this case, the provisions of the proviso to paragraph (1), and paragraphs (2) through (4) of Article 209 apply mutatis mutandis.

⑤A person who installs facilities on other land pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) must pay compensation for damage (excluding damage prescribed in Article 209, paragraph (4) as applied mutatis mutandis in the preceding paragraph) to the other land in question; provided, however, the compensation may be paid annually.

⑥A person who uses facilities owned by another person pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) must pay compensation for damage caused by actions taken in order to initiate using the facilities.

⑦A person who uses, pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), facilities owned by another person must bear the costs required for installation, reconstruction, repair and maintenance of the facilities in proportion to the benefits received.

①If the partition of land creates a parcel of land that cannot receive continuous supply without installing facilities on other land, an owner of the land, in order to receive continuous supply, may install facilities only on other land owned by a person who participated in the partition. In this case, the provisions of paragraph (5) of the preceding Article do not apply.

②The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis if an owner of land has transferred a part of the land to another person.

A landowner must not interfere with a natural water stream flowing from a neighboring land.

If a stream is blocked at low-lying ground due to a natural disaster or other unavoidable accident, an owner of a higher land may carry out construction work necessary to remove the impediment to the stream at that owner's own expense.

If a land suffers or is likely to suffer damage due to destruction or blockage of a structure installed on other land to store, discharge or draw water, the owner of that land may have the owner of that other land repair the structure or remove the impediments, or, if necessary, have the same carry out preventive construction work.

In the cases provided for in the preceding two Articles, if there are other customs with respect to the allocation of expenses, those customs prevail.

A landowner must not install a roof or other structures that discharge rainwater directly onto neighboring land.

①An owner of a channel, moat, or other land containing a stream must not change the course or width of the same if the land on the other side is owned by another person.

②If the land on both sides of a stream is owned by the owner of the land containing the stream, that owner may change the course or the width of the same; provided, however, that the owner must return the stream to its natural course at the point where the stream meets a neighboring land.

③If there are customs that differ from the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, those customs prevail.

An owner of a higher land may run water through lower lands to dry out that owner's higher land if that land is flooded, or to discharge surplus water for household or agricultural or industrial use until the water meets a public stream or sewerage system. In these cases, the location and method that cause the least damage to the lower ground must be selected.

①A landowner may use a structure installed by the owner of higher or lower land in order to cause water from the landowner's land to pass through that land.

②In the cases referred to in the preceding paragraph, the person using the other person's structure must bear the expenses of the installation and preservation of the structure in proportion to the benefit that person enjoys.

①If an owner of land containing a stream needs to construct a dam, that owner may construct that dam by fixing it to the other side even if the land on the other side is owned by another person; provided, however, that the owner must pay compensation for damage arising as a result.

②The owner of land on the other side of a dam may use the dam referred to in the preceding paragraph if that owner owns part of the land containing the stream.

③The provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the cases referred to in the preceding paragraph.

A landowner may install boundary markers, sharing the expenses with the owner of the neighboring land.

The expenses of installation and preservation of boundary markers are borne equally by neighbors; provided, however, that measuring expenses are borne in proportion to the area of each land.

①If two buildings are owned by different owners and there is an open lot between them, each owner may install a fence on the boundary, sharing the expenses with the other owner.

②If no agreement is reached between the parties, the fence referred to in the preceding paragraph must be a wooden fence, a bamboo fence or a fence made of similar material and must be two meters high.

The expenses of installation and preservation of the fences under the preceding Article are borne equally by the neighbors.

One of the neighboring owners may install a fence using materials better than those provided for in Article 225, paragraph (2) or elevating the height provided for under that paragraph; provided, however, that the relevant owner must bear the increase in expenses arising as a result of the same.