Japan Roadside Land Prices Up for 3rd Year in Row

Jiji Press

13:00 JST, July 1, 2024

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—Prices of land facing roads in Japan as of Jan.. 1 rose 2.3 pct from a year before on average, up for the third consecutive year, the National Tax Agency said Monday.

The increase was the largest since the current calculation method was introduced in 2010, reflecting a waning impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Japan’s economic activities following the government’s downgrade of COVID-19 under the infectious disease law to Category V in May last year.

Roadside land prices, used to calculate inheritance and gift taxes, were up in 29 of the country’s 47 prefectures.

Fukuoka Prefecture in southwestern Japan logged the largest rise of 5.8 pct, followed by the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, at 5.6 pct. The climbs were likely due to a boost in demand for offices and condominiums in urban areas.

Roadside land prices in the northeastern prefecture of Aomori and the central prefecture of Shizuoka were unchanged, while prices fell in the remaining 16 prefectures, including Tochigi in eastern Japan.

A total of 37 prefectural capitals logged rises in their roadside land prices. On the other hand, one city registered a price decline, while prices for nine stood unchanged.

The city of Chiba, east of Tokyo, marked the largest rise among all prefectural capitals, with 14.9 pct, followed by the city of Saitama, north of Tokyo, with 11.4 pct. The increases reflected redevelopment projects in front of Chiba Station in Chiba and Omiya Station in Saitama.

The plot of land in front of the Kyukyodo stationery shop in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district remained to have the highest per-square-meter roadside land price in the country for 39 years in a row, at ¥44.24 million , up 3.6 pct.