Govt Announces Roadside Land Prices Across Japan Rose 2.7 percent on Average in 2025; 4th Straight Year of Increases
Roadside land prices are used to calculate amounts for inheritance and gift taxes.
The Jan. 1 figure marked the highest rate of increase in the years after 2009, when land prices nosedived due to the global financial crisis, which is referred to in Japan as the 'Lehman shock.'
Rate increases were remarkably high in tourism areas that are popular among inbound foreign tourists.
The trend of rising roadside land prices was also notable in urban areas where redevelopment projects had progressed or demand for condominiums was high.
According to the agency, the highest rate of increase was recorded in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture, at 32.4%. The village notched the highest rate for the second consecutive year, following last year's 32.1%.
It is believed that Hakuba's high rate was due to increased demand from inbound tourism in both summer and winter, among other factors.
Because roadside land prices are calculated as of midnight on Jan. 1 of the year, the impact from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, which occurred in the evening on Jan. 1, 2024, was reflected in the data for the first time.
The prices around Asaichi-dori street in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture — an area that was devastated by major fires following the quake — plummeted 16.7% from the previous year, marking the largest rate of decrease across the nation.
By prefecture, the prices in Aomori, Tochigi, Shizuoka, Tottori, Shimane and Kagoshima prefectures rose compared with decreases or remaining flat in the previous year. In 35 prefectures, including Tokyo, the prices recorded rises and the number of prefectures showing increases rose by six from the prior year.
Tokyo recorded the highest increase in the nation at 8.1% as prices in tourist spots and redevelopment areas showed remarkable gains.
Okinawa Prefecture followed at 6.3% as the prefecture has many resort areas. High rates of increase were also recorded in Fukuoka Prefecture at 6.0%, and Miyagi, Kanagawa and Osaka prefectures at 4.4%.
Twelve prefectures recorded falls in the prices from a year ago, mainly in rural areas where population decline has steadily continued. In this group, the rate of decrease became larger in Niigata, Yamanashi, Nara and Kochi prefectures.
Among the respective highest roadside land prices in 47 cities, where prefectural government offices are located, 35 cities, down two from the previous year, recorded rises. Among those cities, the rising rate in Saitama City was 11.9%, Chiba City 11.2% and Kyoto City 10.6%.
In 11 cities, including Mito, Maebashi and Nagoya, the prices were flat.
Tottori City was the only city among them where the highest price fell by 3.2%, notching a decrease for two years in a row.
The highest single-location price in the nation was recorded on Ginza Chuo-dori street at 5 Ginza, Chuo Ward, Tokyo, for the 40th consecutive year.
The price rose ¥3.84 million from the previous year to ¥48.08 million per square meter, renewing the highest price ever for the first time in five years. The price also marked the third consecutive year of increase.
A roadside land price is an assessed land value per square meter at a location facing a major road. The prices are roughly 80% of official land prices which are assessed and publicized by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry.
This year's prices were assessed at about 318,000 locations nationwide.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asahi Shimbun
a day ago
- Asahi Shimbun
Cost of land still rising as foreign investors snatch up properties
U.S. investment fund Blackstone Inc. purchased the Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho complex for about 400 billion yen from Seibu Holdings Inc. in February. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Japan's average land price rose for the fourth consecutive year, with hubs for foreign tourists logging some of the sharpest increases. The price of land used for tax calculation purposes in 2025 rose 2.7 percent year on year on a nationwide average, the National Tax Agency said July 1. It was the largest rate of increase since current calculation methods were adopted in 2010. In the village of Hakuba in Nagano Prefecture, which hosts one of the nation's most popular ski resorts among international tourists, the cost of land jumped 32.4 percent from a year earlier. This was the steepest increase in the nation for the second year in a row. A tax accountant familiar with the local market said foreign investors have snapped up closed 'ryokan' inns on the cheap and converted them into accommodations targeting foreign tourists since about 10 years ago. The city of Osaka is home to 90 percent of the nation's 'minpaku' private lodgings based on the Law on National Strategic Special Zones. Under it, overseas tourists are allowed to stay at unoccupied apartment units and other similar facilities. About 40 percent of those facilities in Osaka are operated by Chinese individuals or businesses. The National Tax Agency's announcement revealed that the price of land climbed 17.9 percent from a year earlier in the city's Naniwa Ward where there were 1,036 private lodgings based on the law as of the end of March. Analysts attributed the rise primarily to increased transactions of apartments and other facilities that can be converted into private lodgings. Osaka as a whole had 5,587 private lodgings based on the law at the end of 2024. Of these, 2,305 were affiliated with Chinese individuals or businesses, according to a survey by Yoshihisa Matsumura, who is a professor of tourism geography at Hannan University. Chinese investors, many from Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities, often purchase an entire existing apartment building or rebuild an old house, spending tens of millions of yen to hundreds of millions of yen per property. Overseas real estate investors have increased their presence in Japan. Real estate think tank Urban Research Institute Corp. reported that foreign-affiliated companies poured a combined 1.36 trillion yen ($9.51 billion) into domestic properties in fiscal 2024, double the amount of the previous year. The 'wagaya Japan' real estate information website for foreigners mainly receives inquiries from English-speaking countries. In recent years, many outside Japan have wanted to acquire properties for investment returns or as vacation homes. One sought a property with a view of Mount Fuji, while another wanted to live in a town with an active streetcar. 'Customers seem to be attracted by Japan's health care and educational environments as well as security,' said Haruki Noma, president of the company that operates the website. Noma said he does not think the popularity of Japan is a passing fad as many people actually want to relocate to the country. Tokyo attracted the largest amount of real estate investments in the world during the first three months of 2025, overtaking New York, according to the real estate service company Jones Lang LaSalle. In Japan, demand for office space in urban centers remains strong due partly to a shift away from remote work in the years following the novel coronavirus pandemic. The office vacancy rate in Tokyo was 2.5 percent during the January-March period, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. Comparatively, it was 15.8 percent in New York, 12.4 percent in Beijing and 8.9 percent in London for the same period. Kenichiro Yunome of the Urban Research Institute said he expects Japan to continue attracting foreign investments. 'As the global economy faces uncertainties due to U.S. tariffs and other factors, Japan is seen as a comparatively 'safe asset' with its stable economy and real estate market,' Yunome said. (This article was written by Yuta Hanano and Takashi Ichida.)
Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
Noto quake-hit area sees biggest roadside land price drop
The Asaichi-dori morning market street in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, registered the largest year-on-year drop among the 2025 highest roadside land prices surveyed by tax offices across Japan, according to National Tax Agency data released Tuesday. The latest prices of land facing major roads in Japan announced by the agency reflected for the first time the impact of a massive earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1, 2024. The roadside land price for a plot in the Asaichi-dori area plunged 16.7%, a stark contrast to a 4.5% decline in the previous year.
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Inbound Tourism Fuels Land Price Surge Across Japan; High Hopes for Development Projects Ahead
Strong demand from inbound tourism has significantly driven up land prices in tourist destinations nationwide, a trend extending to areas around the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. According to an announcement by the National Tax Agency on Tuesday, land prices rose year-on-year in 35 prefectures, and the national average increased for the fourth consecutive year. Popular 'Little Kyotos' A 55-year-old Belgian tourist was seen smiling as she looked at a 'sarubobo' (monkey baby) — a local folk artwork — in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, on June 25. She said that a guidebook sparked her interest in the culture and nature in the area and that she found the traditional wooden buildings to be amazing. Takayama is popular for its old townscape, which comprises historic sake breweries and traditional houses. Last year, the city, dubbed 'Hida's Little Kyoto,' saw its foreign overnight visitors surge to about 769,700, an increase of 70% compared to the previous year. That number is a record high, significantly surpassing the pre-pandemic figure of about 612,000 in 2019. Reflecting this popularity, land prices in the area along Kami-Sannomachi Shimo-Sannomachi-dori street, located in the central part of the city, rose by 28.3% this year compared to the previous year, the fourth highest increase in the nation. According to the city's historic townscape preservation association, the surge in demand driven by inbound tourism means that buyers are quickly found even for shops on the main street of Kami-Sannomachi that closed due to the aging of their owners. The trend has left the street with almost no vacant properties. At the Sumiyoshi Ryokan inn with a more than 100-year-old building located along the Miyagawa river, a stream famous for its morning market, more than 90% of guests are inbound tourists. 'We're almost fully booked until September,' said Tsunetada Minami, 50, who manages the inn. 'International travelers are essential for the survival of our business.' Spreading on social media Even in Tokyo, where land prices saw the highest increase among all prefectures at 8.1%, it was mainly inbound tourism that was responsible for the rise. Land prices on Kaminarimon-dori street in Asakusa, Tokyo, recorded a 29% increase, the third highest nationwide and the highest in Tokyo. Nakamise-dori shopping street in the district is bustling with foreign tourists posing for photos in kimonos and buying souvenirs. 'Events like Sanja Festival have spread on social media, increasing their popularity among foreigners,' said Shigemi Fuji, 76, chairperson of the Asakusa Tourism Federation. Meanwhile, it has also been pointed out that the number of Japanese visitors to Asakusa has been decreasing. 'Some rickshaw drivers have days when all their passengers are foreign tourists,' said Takashi Sudo, 45, manager of Isshin, which operates a rickshaw service. Appeal of Expo Although the Osaka-Kansai Expo, which opened in April and is being held on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Konohana Ward, Osaka, had yet to open at the time of the land price assessment, speculation over associated redevelopment projects has still boosted land prices in the ward. The area around Yumeshima Station on the Osaka Metro Chuo Line, saw an 18.2% increase from the previous year. The station, which opened in January, is the closest one to the Expo venue. Land in the area around Bentencho Station, a station where passengers transfer from a JR line to access Yumeshima, also saw an 11% price increases. Near the station, there is a 20,000-square-meter plot of land, which used to be the site of a municipal high school. The city in September last year solicited redevelopment proposals for the site and received 12. 'There is a lot of interest in the area, as it's close to Yumeshima,' a city official said. According to a British company that operates hotels in 10 locations in Osaka, the average rate for a room at its hotels has increased by 30% year-on-year since the Expo opened in April. 'In addition to visitors from Asia, there has been a notable increase in visitors from Europe and the United States,' an official of the company said. 'The Expo is serving as a huge advertisement for promoting the appeal of Osaka to the world.'
