Japan Roadside Land Prices Up for 5th Consecutive Year

Tokyo, July 1 (Jiji Press)–Prices of land facing roads in Japan as of Jan. 1 rose 2.9 pct from a year before on average, up for the fifth straight year, the National Tax Agency said Wednesday. The pace of increase was the steepest since the current calculation method was introduced in 2010, apparently reflecting growing residential demand, mainly in Tokyo, and resort development targeting inbound tourists. Roadside land prices, which are used to calculate inheritance and gift taxes, rose in 36 of the country’s 47 prefectures. Tokyo marked the largest increase, at 9.4 pct, followed by the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, at 6.6 pct. Prices were unchanged in three prefectures, including Gifu, central Japan. Prices declined in eight prefectures including Niigata, central Japan, and Shimane, western Japan, down from four prefectures a year before. The pace of decline slowed in five prefectures. A total of 44 prefectural capitals marked rises in their highest roadside land prices, up from 35 a year before. Prices were unchanged in three prefectures, down from 11. No capitals reported declines, for the first time since the 1991 survey during Japan’s bubble economy. The southwestern city of Saga logged the steepest increase, at 17.0 pct, followed by the northeastern city of Morioka, at 13.0 pct. The rises are believed to have reflected development projects near Saga and Morioka stations. The plot of land in front of the Kyukyodo stationery shop in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district recorded the highest per-square-meter roadside land price in the country at a record 53.36 million yen, up 11.0 pct from a year before and maintaining the top position for the 41st year in a row. The price is equivalent to about 649,000 yen for a strip the size of a 10,000-yen bill. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]