Govt Announces Roadside Land Prices Across Japan Rose 2.7% on Average in 2025; 4th Straight Year of Increases

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:15 JST, July 1, 2025

The National Tax Agency announced on Tuesday that roadside land prices, as of Jan. 1, had risen 2.7% on average from a year earlier, a higher increase than the 2.3% posted in the previous year and marking the fourth consecutive year of growth.

Roadside land prices are used to calculate amounts for inheritance and gift taxes.

The Jan. 1 rate marked the highest year-on-year increase since 2009, when land prices nosedived due to the global financial crisis, which is referred to in Japan as the “Lehman shock.”

Rate increases were remarkably high in areas that are popular among inbound foreign tourists.

The trend of rising roadside land prices was also notable in urban areas where redevelopment projects had progressed or demand for condominiums was high.

According to the agency, the highest rate of increase was recorded in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture, at 32.4%. The village notched the highest rate for the second consecutive year, following last year’s 32.1%.

It is believed that Hakuba’s high rate was partly due to increased demand from inbound tourism in both summer and winter.

Because roadside land prices are calculated as of midnight on Jan. 1 of the year, the impact from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, which occurred in the afternoon on Jan. 1, 2024, was reflected in the data for the first time.

The prices around Asaichi-dori street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture — an area that was devastated by major fires following the quake — plummeted 16.7% from the previous year, marking the largest rate of decrease across the nation.

By prefecture, the prices in Aomori, Tochigi, Shizuoka, Tottori, Shimane and Kagoshima rose after falling or remaining flat in the previous year. In 35 prefectures, including Tokyo, prices went up, six more than the prior year.

Tokyo recorded the highest increase in the nation at 8.1% as prices in tourist spots and redevelopment areas showed remarkable gains.

Okinawa Prefecture followed at 6.3% as the prefecture has many resort areas. High rates of increase were also recorded in Fukuoka Prefecture at 6.0%, and Miyagi, Kanagawa and Osaka prefectures at 4.4%.

Twelve prefectures recorded lower prices from a year ago, mainly in rural areas where population decline has steadily continued. In this group, the rate of decrease became larger in Niigata, Yamanashi, Nara and Kochi prefectures.

Among the highest roadside land prices in the 47 cities where prefectural government offices are located, 35 cities, down two from the previous year, recorded rises. Among those cities, the rate of increase in Saitama City was 11.9%, Chiba City 11.2% and Kyoto City 10.6%.

In 11 cities, including Mito, Maebashi and Nagoya, the prices were flat.

Tottori City was the only city among them where the highest price fell by 3.2%, notching a decrease for two years in a row.

The highest single-location price in the nation was recorded on Ginza Chuo-dori street at 5 Ginza, Chuo Ward, Tokyo, for the 40th consecutive year.

The price rose ¥3.84 million from the previous year to ¥48.08 million per square meter, breaking the record for the highest price ever for the first time in five years. The price also marked the third consecutive year of increase.

A roadside land price is an assessed land value per square meter at a location facing a major road. The prices are roughly 80% of official land prices that are assessed and publicized by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry.

This year’s prices were assessed at about 318,000 locations nationwide.