Benchmark land prices up for a fifth year: four official yardsticks, and what each one actually measures
Japan's land ministry released the 2026 benchmark land prices in mid-September — the all-use national average rose 1.5%, a fifth straight annual increase. But in any given year you will see at least four "official land prices", each with a different number. Here we take the four yardsticks apart — who sets them, when they measure, what they are for — and why none of them measures what your unit is worth.
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