Inbound Tourism Continues Affecting Land Prices in Japan

Tokyo, July 1 (Jiji Press)–Inbound tourism continued making contributions to rises in roadside land prices in Japan this year, according to National Tax Agency data released Wednesday. Prices of land facing roads in the country as of Jan. 1 rose 2.9 pct from a year before on average, marking the fifth straight year of growth. Some spots that are popular among tourists from abroad posted increases of over 25 pct. Among the highest roadside land prices in areas covered by each tax office, the village of Hakuba in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, marked the steepest growth for the third straight year, at 32.7 pct, higher than the year-before rise of 32.4 pct. The village of Nozawaonsen in the same prefecture came second, at 31.3 pct, followed by the Kitanomine district in the city of Furano in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, at 28.0 pct. All three areas are close to ski resorts that are known for high-quality powdery snow and therefore popular among inbound visitors. Meanwhile, the Asaichi-dori morning market area in the city of Wajima in the central Japan prefecture of Ishikawa, which was hit hard by the January 2024 strong earthquake, logged the biggest roadside land price decline, at 8.6 pct, although the figure was smaller than the year-before drop of 16.7 pct. In more than 30 places in Tokyo, roadside land prices grew by over 10 pct. Of them, seven spots, including the Asakusa district in Taito Ward, an area near Kita-Senju Station in Adachi Ward and a spot near Kinshicho Station in Sumida Ward, posted rises of over 20 pct. Such stations, located outside the heart of Tokyo, where housing prices are shooting up, are attracting attention due to being convenient. Shinichi Morinaga, a real estate appraiser in the Japanese capital, said that the higher land prices may partly be traced to the “increasing number of foreigners who purchase condominiums for investment amid rising demand for housing.” Land prices are on a rising trend across the country, with growth of more than 10 pct posted in the city centers of Saga, the capital of the namesake prefecture in southwestern Japan, and Morioka, the capital of the northeastern prefecture of Iwate. Masayuki Takahashi at real estate appraising firm Tokyo Kantei Co. said that the land price rises in rural areas “may be due to urban renewal projects and may prove temporary.” There has been a polarization between major cities, such as Tokyo, whose land prices are rising beyond the levels seen in the country’s bubble economy mainly in the late 1980s, and rural areas that are losing their presence with decreasing populations. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]