Land prices as of Jan. 1 rose for the third consecutive year, on the back of brisk demand generated by rising foreign visitor numbers and urban redevelopment projects, the National Tax Agency said in its annual report released Monday.
The increase of 0.7 percent on average from a year earlier represented a higher rate of growth for the second year in a row, but the gap between major cities and rural areas continued to widen, according to the report.
A plot in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district in front of the traditional stationery store Kyukyodo fetched a record ¥44.32 million ($400,000) per square meter, making it the most expensive piece of real estate for the 33rd straight year.