Latest news with #NationalTaxAgency
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Business
- 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
18 hours ago
- Business
- 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.'
19 hours ago
- Business
Noto Quake-Hit Area Suffers Biggest Roadside Land Price Drop
News from Japan Society Jul 1, 2025 18:46 (JST) Tokyo, July 1 (Jiji Press)--The "Asaichi-dori" morning market street in the central Japan city of Wajima 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, central Japan, on Jan. 1, 2024. The roadside land price for a plot in the Asaichi-dori area plunged 16.7 pct, a stark contrast to a 4.5 pct decline in the previous year. Prior to being devastated by the disaster, the Asaichi-dori area was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city located in Ishikawa Prefecture, attracting many tourists. The situation, however, drastically changed after many buildings were lost in a massive fire that broke out in the wake of the 7.6-magnitude quake on New Year's Day last year. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yomiuri Shimbun
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Govt Announces Roadside Land Prices Across Japan Rose 2.7 percent on Average in 2025; 4th Straight Year of Increases
The National Tax Agency announced on Tuesday that roadside land prices as of Jan. 1, 2025, rose 2.7% on average from the previous year, with the increase higher than the 2.3% posted in the previous year, marking the fourth consecutive 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.
NHK
a day ago
- Business
- NHK
Japan land prices gain for 4th consecutive year
The average price of land in Japan has gone up for the fourth straight year. The year-on-year increase was the largest since 2010 in percentage terms. The National Tax Agency on Tuesday announced new numbers used to calculate land taxes. It says that as of January 1, the price of land along major streets at about 320,000 locations was up 2.7 percent from the year prior. The rise has been seen in 35 of the country's 47 prefectures. The highest rate of increase was 8.1 percent in Tokyo, followed by 6.3 percent in Okinawa Prefecture and 6 percent in Fukuoka Prefecture. Ginza Chuo Street in Tokyo's Ginza district marked the highest land price in the country for the 40th year in a row. The price marks 48.08 million yen, or about 333,600 dollars, per square meter. The agency says the price increase is attributed to a boom in inbound tourism pushing up the construction of accommodation facilities in tourist sites, and a growing housing demand. But the land price of Asaichidori in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, reflect the impact of a major earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula on New Year's Day in 2024. Land values there dropped 16.7 percent, the sharpest decline rate in the country.
