Land prices in Japan in 2023 rose at the fastest pace since comparable data was available in 2010, the tax agency said on Monday, suggesting a faster recovery helped by buoyant tourism after the coronavirus pandemic.
The average land price rose 2.3% last year, for the third consecutive year, according to a survey by the National Tax Agency, extending increases of 1.5% in 2022 and 0.5% in 2021.
Land prices rose in 29 of the country’s 47 prefectures, including Tokyo, northern Hokkaido and southern Okinawa, the survey showed. This figure is up from the 25 prefectures the previous year. Prices fell in 16 prefectures, compared to 20 prefectures in 2022.
Due to high demand for housing and commercial land, Fukuoka Prefecture recorded the largest increase (5.8%), according to the survey.
Redevelopment projects have supported demand for office space in Fukuoka. The recovery in tourism has also boosted demand for hotels and restaurants.
The return of foreign visitors after the pandemic has helped a plot of land in Tokyo’s luxurious Ginza shopping area remain Japan’s most expensive location for the 39th consecutive year, the survey found.
Ginza’s land price rose 3.6 percent in 2023, up two years in a row, to 44.2 million yen ($274,705) per square meter.
The country welcomed more than 3 million visitors for the third consecutive month in May, as a weak yen helped fuel a record pace for inbound tourism, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).
Last year, Japan received around 25 million foreign visitors, after reaching a record 31.9 million in 2019.
The tax agency evaluates land prices as of January 1 of each year to calculate inheritance and gift taxes on properties acquired that year.
($1 = 160.9000 yen) (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Kim Coghill)
