Japan's land prices rise for fourth consecutive year…largest increase in 34 years

Japan's land prices have been found to have risen by the largest margin in 34 years.

On the 16th, the Asahi Shimbun and the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that the standard land price as of July 1 this year, announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, rose 1.5% from a year earlier, marking a rise for the fourth consecutive year.

According to the reports, this increase is the highest level since 1991's 3.4%, just before land prices plunged due to the collapse of the bubble.

The standard land price refers to the land prices of roughly 20,000 reference points surveyed and announced each year in early July by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and local governments nationwide, and is used as a reference price in private land transactions.

The one-year rise in land prices was notable in the three major metropolitan areas centered on Tokyo, such as Osaka and Nagoya, local media said.

The Tokyo area rose 5.3%, the Osaka area 3.4%, the Nagoya area 2.1%, and regional areas also rose 0.4%.

Notably, areas such as Chitose in Hokkaido, where Rapidus has established a plant aiming at advanced semiconductor manufacturing, showed pronounced increases.

Among the nationwide survey reference points, 49.3% increased, and in the Tokyo area 89.2% showed increases. By use, commercial land rose 2.8% and residential land 1.0%.

Nikkei analyzed, "Inflows of overseas capital have entered the real estate market, with the Tokyo area in particular acting as the driving force of the rise. As the Japanese economy recovers moderately, the land price rising cycle continues."

Meanwhile, the most expensive land in this survey was the site of the Meiji-ya Ginza Building in Ginza, Tokyo, evaluated at ¥46,900,000 per 1㎡ (about ₩440,000,000). The site rose 11.4% from a year earlier, maintaining its position as the nation's No. 1 reference point for 20 consecutive years.

Lee Bo-bae, guest reporter for Hankyung.com newsinfo@hankyung.com