Land Prices Rising in Areas near Planned Semiconductor Plant Sites

By Minami Sato / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

16:35 JST, September 20, 2023

Land values are showing a clear sign of recovery as the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, with particular increases seen in industrial areas where semiconductor plants are planned to be built.

The prospect of increased employment is also boosting land prices in residential and commercial areas around such industrial spots.

Rapidus Corp, which is aiming to produce cutting-edge semiconductors domestically, is constructing a plant in Chitose, Hokkaido. Even at a surveyed area in an industrial complex far from the planned plant, land value rose 29.4%, the third-highest among industrial areas in the country.

Land prices in residential areas around JR Chitose Station rose about 30% across the board, placing them among the top locations for price increases.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., one of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers, is building a new plant in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, and the town is booming. A nearby location in an industrial area saw a 31.1% increase in land prices. Sony Group Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. have also announced the construction or expansion of new plants in the area. In addition, condominiums and business hotels are being developed. The commercial land price increased by 32.4% in the adjacent town of Ozu, the highest in the country. Such activity is expected to have an economic ripple effect on the surrounding areas.

Logistics facilities are also being built one after another around the country. In Komaki, Aichi Prefecture, a key transportation hub in the Chubu region, and Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, located midway between Osaka and Kobe, some surveyed locations saw a rise in land values of more than 15%.