Land prices up across Japan's big cities

[TOKYO] Land prices in Japan's three largest metropolitan areas rose in the 12 months to July 1, driven by investments in office properties and housing demand, but prices in most smaller cities kept falling, a government survey showed.

Commercial land prices for metropolitan areas surrounding Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya rose 1.7 per cent in the year to July 1, a much faster pace than the previous year's 0.6 per cent gain, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Residential land prices in those regions rose 0.5 per cent, the first increase in six years, the ministry said.