Land prices in Japan rose 0.4 percent on average as of Jan. 1 from a year earlier, marking the second consecutive year of gain, the National Tax Agency said in its annual report released Monday.
The highest land price in the country was ¥40.32 million per sq. meter for land in front of the famous Kyukyodo stationery store in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district, up 26.0 percent from last year. The spot remains the most expensive in Japan for the 32nd consecutive year.
The price established a new high water mark, topping the ¥36.5 million recorded at the same location in 1992, soon after the burst of Japan's asset-inflated bubble economy. The price plunged in the following years, falling to as low as ¥11.36 million in 1997.