Japan- Land prices (finally) up

Land Prices
In Japan
Reverse Slide

By AKANE VALLERY UCHIDA and ANDREW MORSE
March 23, 2007

TOKYO -- Japanese land prices nationwide posted a general rise for the first time in 16 years, a development that could boost the world's second-largest economy by enticing consumers to spend more.

Residential land prices rose an average of 0.1% in 2006, while commercial property prices jumped an average of 2.3%, according to an annual land report issued Thursday by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The rises in both categories marked a sharp break from the previous year, when both residential and commercial property prices slumped an average 2.7%.

(rest found in the March 23, WSJ)