Photo/Illutration The area around Sensoji temple’s Kaminarimon gate in Tokyo’s Asakusa district attracts hordes of young people decked out in kimono on March 15. (Sho Hatsumi)

Prices of land, residential or otherwise, rose 0.6 percent on average in 2022, compared with 2021, for the first increase in two years, signaling that economic fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic is easing.

The data, based on officially assessed land values as of Jan. 1, was released by the land ministry on March 22.

Prices of commercial land increased 0.4 percent on average following a decline of 0.8 percent last year.

But commercial areas that relied heavily on overseas tourists in pre-pandemic times are falling in land value due to continuing restrictions on entry into Japan.

For example, the Minami district of Osaka, an area that used to be teeming with foreign visitors on shopping sprees, is still feeling the impact from a lack of tourists from overseas.

The price of a plot where a building sits that used to house a famous blowfish restaurant, Zuboraya, was valued at 4.9 million yen ($40,800) per square meter, a drop of 15.5 percent and the nation’s largest decline in commercial properties for the second straight year.

Eight locations in the Minami district featured in the nation’s 10 locations that recorded the largest drop.

In contrast, the Asakusa area of Tokyo, also a perennially popular destination for tourists, is slowly recovering.

The price of land for a multi-tenant building near the Asakusa subway station was assessed at 4.45 million yen per square meter, up 1.1 percent and a sharp reversal from a 12-percent decrease in 2021.

A tempura restaurant near the famed Kaminarimon gate of Sensoji temple said customers are gradually returning, albeit in small numbers, with many of them from nearby areas.

But outlets that were previously patronized by foreign tourists are still struggling to stay afloat.

The highest land price was recorded at the main store of Yamano Music Co. in the capital’s ritzy Ginza shopping district for the 16th year in a row, at 53 million yen per square meter.

Residential land saw an average rise of 0.5 percent, compared with a 0.4-percent decrease in 2021.

Growth in the prices of residential properties was recorded in Tokyo and 19 other prefectures, up from eight in 2021.

Demand for apartments in areas where people can commute easily to their offices remained high. The spread of teleworking also pushed up demand for detached homes on the outskirts of urban centers, including the Tokyo metropolitan area.

The value of industrial properties rose 2 percent, the sixth straight year of increase and the largest leap since the collapse of the asset-inflated economy in 1992.

A key factor behind the rise is growing investment in the construction of distribution facilities handling ever-growing demand for online shopping.




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