Land prices as of the beginning of this year were 1.6 percent higher on average than a year before, up for the fifth consecutive year, supported by a rise in development projects and foreign visitors, government data showed Wednesday.
However, it is likely the prices will experience a downturn if the economy continues to weaken due to the fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The data released by the National Tax Agency shows that land prices climbed in 21 of the country's 47 prefectures, with Okinawa seeing the steepest rise at 10.5 percent, helped by robust demand for inbound tourism, followed by Tokyo at 5.0 percent and Miyagi and Fukuoka prefectures at 4.8 percent.