Land prices in Japan rose 1.6 percent in 2022, marking a second straight annual gain, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed on Wednesday.
In a survey of about 26,000 locations nationwide as of Jan. 1, 2023, the average valuation was 1.6 percent higher than a year earlier, the biggest gain in 15 years as a loose monetary policy and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions fueled demand for offices, condominiums and hotels, according to the ministry.
While prices rose the most since a 1.7-percent growth in 2008, the ministry said the increases have spread beyond major cities to the country as a whole.
The figure for the largest conurbations of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya rallied 2.1 percent, while prices in four regional cities Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima and Fukuoka, jumped 8.5 percent, driven by a series of redevelopment projects.
Land prices had been flagging due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but now they are rising amid a moderate economic recovery, the ministry noted.
