Jun 21 (Japan Times) - Japan logged the first drop in land prices in any major city in 23 quarters in April due to the effects of the coronavirus epidemic, a land ministry survey showed Friday.
As of April 1, land prices were down from the previous quarter in four of the urban locations the ministry surveys nationwide as hotel-related demand sank amid the spread of COVID-19, according to the quarterly report.
The four included a location in front of Gifu Station in Gifu Prefecture and the Marugame district in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture.
Areas with business that rely on tourism were heavily damaged by the coronavirus crisis, the report said.
Land prices also fell in Yokohama’s Motomachi district and the Fukuoka’s Ohori district.