Japan's land prices up for 5th straight year on housing, tourism demand

TOKYO - The average price of land in Japan as of July 1 climbed for the fifth straight year, led by major metropolitan areas with robust housing demand and tourist destinations amid increasing inbound visitors, government data showed Tuesday.

The nationwide overall average logged a 1.5 percent increase, the same pace as a year earlier which was the sharpest since the burst of Japan's asset price bubble in the early 1990s. By category, commercial land prices rose 2.9 percent on strong demand for shops and hotels, while residential land prices gained 1.0 percent.