The results of land price surveys carried out by prefectural governments as of July 1 show that the monetary easing pushed by the Abe administration through Bank of Japan operations is gradually raising land prices in some urban areas. The government should take care so that its policy does not create economic bubbles and that the gap in economic activities between large urban areas and the countryside will be narrowed.

The national land and infrastructure ministry on Sept. 19 said that land prices in commercial areas in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya as of July 1 rose an average 0.6 percent from a year earlier, the first rise in five years, while land prices in residential areas in these megalopolises almost leveled off, with a 0.1 percent decline.

If land prices are compared in spots covered by both the July 1 surveys and surveys carried out Jan. 1, land prices went up in both commercial and residential areas in the three megalopolises while corresponding land prices in other parts of Japan saw the margin of drops greatly reduced in the half-year period.