More than 80 percent of 150 land price survey locations in Japan as of Jan. 1 logged quarterly rises for the first time in six years, indicating spreading land price hikes, the government said Tuesday.

Investment in real estate has grown on the back of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policy emphasizing monetary easing, said an official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Survey locations logging hikes numbered 122, up 15 from the previous quarterly survey as of Oct. 1 last year, accounting for 81.3 percent of the total, the highest percentage since 87.0 percent in January 2008.

Land prices leveled off in 22 locations and fell at six.

In the Tokyo metropolitan region, land prices rose in 53 locations, leveled off in nine and dropped in three.

In the Nagoya region, land prices posted hikes in all 14 survey locations for the third straight quarterly survey. In the Osaka region, they rose in 34 locations and remained unchanged in five, with no location recording a drop.

In other regions, land prices increased in 21, leveled off in eight and fell in three.