Inbound Tourism Continues Affecting Land Prices in Japan

Tokyo, July 1 (Jiji Press)--Inbound tourism continued making contributions to rises in roadside land prices in Japan this year, according to National Tax Agency data released Wednesday.

Prices of land facing roads in the country as of Jan. 1 rose 2.9 pct from a year before on average, marking the fifth straight year of growth. Some spots that are popular among tourists from abroad posted increases of over 25 pct.

Among the highest roadside land prices in areas covered by each tax office, the village of Hakuba in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, marked the steepest growth for the third straight year, at 32.7 pct, higher than the year-before rise of 32.4 pct. The village of Nozawaonsen in the same prefecture came second, at 31.3 pct, followed by the Kitanomine district in the city of Furano in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, at 28.0 pct.

All three areas are close to ski resorts that are known for high-quality powdery snow and therefore popular among inbound visitors.

Meanwhile, the Asaichi-dori morning market area in the city of Wajima in the central Japan prefecture of Ishikawa, which was hit hard by the January 2024 strong earthquake, logged the biggest roadside land price decline, at 8.6 pct, although the figure was smaller than the year-before drop of 16.7 pct.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]