Average land prices in Japan's three largest metropolitan areas -- Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya -- are up for the first time since 1990, the government said Monday, providing further evidence the economy is picking up.
Average land prices in the three metropolitan areas as of July 1 had risen 0.4 percent in residential areas and 3.6 percent in commercial areas compared with the same period last year, according to an annual survey by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.
Although prices nationwide for both residential and commercial land fell for the 15th straight year, they are declining more slowly, the survey found.