TOKYO, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Land prices in Japan in 2023 rose 2.3 percent, marking the third straight annual rise, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed on Tuesday.
In a survey of about 26,000 locations nationwide as of Jan. 1, 2024, the growth in average valuation was higher than the 1.6-percent increase seen in the previous year and returning to pre-pandemic levels, according to the ministry.
The ministry said that prices for residential-use land grew 2 percent, while commercial-use land prices rose by 3.1 percent.
Residential land prices in the three largest metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya grew 2.8 percent, while prices rose 7.0 percent in the four big regional cities of Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima and Fukuoka.
In regional areas excluding the four major regional cities, prices climbed for 41 percent of them, driven by demand for good-access housing, a recovery in demand for stores, and expanding inflow of foreign visitors, the data showed.
Meanwhile, the ministry noted that due to a shrinking and aging population, prices dropped in 40 percent of the surveyed areas. ■
