On March 17, 2026, Japan’s 国土交通省 (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, abbreviated MLIT) published the annual 地価公示 (chika kōji, the Official Land Price Survey), the statutory benchmark that sets the legal floor for land valuation across the country. The headline for Tokyo was unambiguous: residential land across the 23 wards rose 9.0% year-on-year, the fifth consecutive annual increase and the sharpest rate of gain since the post-bubble contraction of the early 1990s. For foreign buyers evaluating a purchase in Minato-ku (港区) or Chiyoda-ku (千代田区), that number is not background noise. It is the single most consequential data point in the market right now.

What the 地価公示 Actually Measures, and Why It Matters

The chika kōji is published once a year, with valuations fixed as of January 1. A panel of licensed appraisers assesses roughly 26,000 benchmark points across Japan. The resulting figures are used as the legal reference price for compulsory purchase proceedings, but their practical reach extends much further. Three other statutory valuations are derived from the chika kōji, each relevant to a buyer’s total cost of ownership.

The 路線価 (rosenka, the road-frontage value published annually by the 国税庁, the National Tax Agency) runs at approximately 80% of the chika kōji and is the basis for 相続税 (sōzoku-zei, inheritance tax) and 贈与税 (zōyo-zei, gift tax) calculations. The 固定資産税評価額 (kotei-shisan-zei hyōka-gaku, the assessed value for fixed-asset tax and city-planning tax) is set by each municipality at roughly 70% of the chika kōji and is revised every three years, with the next revision due in 2027. Understanding these ratios matters because a buyer who pays ¥2 billion for a Minato-ku property is not simply paying a market price. They are also anchoring their annual tax obligations and any future estate-planning calculations to a figure that is now rising at 16.6% per year in that ward.

For a detailed breakdown of how these valuations interact with purchase costs and annual holding taxes, the Luxury Property Tokyo 2026: Prices, Taxes, and What Foreign Buyers Must Know guide covers the full picture.

The Ward-by-Ward Numbers

The 2026 chika kōji data for Tokyo’s 23 wards, published by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government on March 17, 2026, shows a market that is accelerating broadly, with the inner wards pulling furthest ahead.

Residential Land

The 23-ward average for residential land rose 9.0%, up from 7.9% the prior year. The five central wards, collectively referred to as the 都心5区 (tōshin go-ku), averaged 13.0% growth, compared with 12.0% in 2025. Minato-ku led all wards at +16.6%, followed by Taito-ku (台東区) at +14.2% and Shinagawa-ku (品川区) at +13.9%. Even the slowest ward, Katsushika-ku (葛飾区) in the northeast, recorded +5.6%.

The single highest-priced residential benchmark point in the entire country was, for the ninth consecutive year, 港区赤坂1-14-11 (Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku), assessed at ¥7.11 million per square meter, up 20.5% from the prior year. At that unit price, a 200-square-meter site in Akasaka carries a chika kōji land value of approximately ¥1.42 billion before any structure is considered. Other reference points relevant to luxury buyers include 白金台3丁目 (Shirokanedai 3-chome, Minato-ku) at ¥5.48 million per square meter (+16.6%), 六番町 (Rokuban-cho, Chiyoda-ku) at ¥5.30 million per square meter (+9.7%), and 南麻布4丁目 (Minami-Azabu 4-chome, Minato-ku) at ¥4.99 million per square meter (+15.5%). For buyers specifically evaluating Chiyoda-ku, the Chiyoda-ku Bancho Guide: Land Prices, Zoning, and Buying in 2026 provides granular zoning and pricing context.

Commercial Land

Commercial land in the 23 wards rose 13.8% on average, accelerating from 11.8% the prior year. The fastest single point in all of Tokyo was 渋谷区桜丘町14-6 (Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku), near the Shibuya Sakura Stage complex, which posted a 29.0% increase. Taito-ku led at the ward level with +19.1%, driven almost entirely by the Asakusa cluster, where six of the ten fastest-rising commercial points in Tokyo are concentrated. The national benchmark for commercial land, 中央区銀座4-5-6 (Ginza 4-chome, Chuo-ku), the Yamano Music building, held the top position for the twentieth consecutive year at ¥67.1 million per square meter, up 10.9%.

Five Drivers Behind the Acceleration

The 2026 chika kōji data reflects a convergence of structural factors, not a single catalyst. MLIT’s analysis and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s accompanying commentary identify five primary drivers.

First, inbound tourism reached record levels through 2025, generating competing demand for hotel and retail sites in Asakusa, Ginza, and Shibuya. That demand is directly visible in the Taito-ku and Shibuya-ku commercial figures above.

Second, large-scale redevelopment projects are repricing entire station-front districts. The Shibuya Sakura Stage complex, the Nakano Station area redevelopment, and multiple Chuo Line and Keio Line station-front projects have each created localized price jumps that then pull surrounding parcels upward.

Third, マンション (manshon, Japanese usage for freehold condominium, distinct from the English word ‘mansion’) developers have been bidding aggressively for mixed-use sites in secondary wards including Bunkyo-ku (文京区) and Kita-ku (北区), pushing commercial land prices in those areas even where retail demand alone would not justify the gains.

Fourth, foreign capital has become a structurally significant component of the market. Japan’s total real estate investment volume in 2025 reached ¥6.5 trillion, a record, with approximately 60% concentrated in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Foreign capital alone accounted for ¥2.4 trillion of that total, also a record, according to reporting by Nikkei Asia.

Fifth, and perhaps most important for assessing sustainability, analysts and MLIT characterize this cycle as 実需型 (jitsuju-gata, real-demand-led), anchored in corporate earnings recovery and genuine housing demand rather than speculative leverage. That framing distinguishes 2026 from the late-1980s bubble, though it does not eliminate price risk at the individual asset level.

Momentum Is Accelerating, Not Plateauing

One figure in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s release deserves particular attention. Using 217 共通地点 (kyōtsū chiten, shared benchmark points) that appear in both the annual chika kōji and the mid-year 都道府県地価調査 (todōfuken chika chōsa, the prefectural land price survey), it is possible to split 2025 into two six-month periods and compare them.

For 23-ward residential land, the first half of 2025 (January to July) showed a gain of 4.3%. The second half (July 2025 to January 2026) showed 4.7%. For commercial land, the split was 6.4% in the first half and 7.0% in the second. In both categories, the pace of appreciation accelerated as the year progressed. The 2026 annual figure is therefore not the story of a market that ran hard and then moderated. It is the story of a market that ran hard and then ran harder.

For buyers who have been monitoring Tokyo for 12 to 18 months and have not yet transacted, this intra-year data is the most relevant signal. The question of timing carries a measurable cost.

What These Numbers Mean at the Transaction Level

The chika kōji figures are benchmark valuations, not transaction prices. Actual sale prices for luxury residential properties in Minato-ku, Shibuya-ku (渋谷区), and Chiyoda-ku typically trade at a premium to the assessed land value, reflecting building quality, floor level, view corridors, and the scarcity of available inventory in specific sub-neighborhoods.

For a foreign buyer, several practical points follow from the 2026 data. First, the rosenka for Akasaka, Shirokanedai, and Minami-Azabu will be published by the National Tax Agency in July 2026, reflecting the January 1 chika kōji figures. Any estate-planning or gifting structure that references current land values should account for the July revision before it is finalized. Second, the fixed-asset tax assessed value for properties in Minato-ku is due for revision in 2027. Buyers acquiring in 2026 will have one year at the current assessed value before the upward adjustment takes effect. Third, for non-resident buyers or those without 永住権 (eijuuken, Japanese permanent residency), mortgage access remains constrained at Japanese banks, meaning the majority of transactions at the ¥300 million and above level are structured as cash purchases or involve offshore financing. The tax and holding-cost implications of that structure are covered in detail in the Tokyo Luxury Real Estate Market 2026: Prices, Inventory, and Transaction Data overview.

At the advisory level, transactions in this price range require a licensed 宅建士 (takken-shi, Japan’s licensed real-estate transaction specialist) to conduct the 重要事項説明 (juuyou-jikou-setsumei, the statutory pre-contract disclosure meeting) and to verify that the land area, zoning classification, and any encumbrances recorded in the 登記 (touki, the title register maintained at the Legal Affairs Bureau) are consistent with what the seller has represented. Most Tokyo agencies route clients through unlicensed salespeople until the closing day, bringing in a takken-shi only for the mandatory disclosure meeting. Koukyuu operates differently: a licensed takken-shi personally handles every stage of each engagement, from the initial brief through due diligence, negotiation, contract, and signing. The agency works exclusively on transactions of ¥300 million and above, which means every client brief and every curated shortlist is calibrated to the segment of the market that the 2026 chika kōji data describes most sharply.

As the Japan Times reported on March 17, 2026, the national average land price rose 2.8% this year, the sharpest gain since the post-bubble era. In the inner Tokyo wards, the gap between that national average and local reality is now measured in multiples.

Koukyuu is a private buyer’s advisory for distinguished Tokyo residences in Omotesando (表参道), Nishi-Azabu (西麻布), Shirokane (白金), and Azabudai Hills (麻布台ヒルズ), focused exclusively on transactions of ¥300 million and above, with a licensed takken-shi personally handling every stage from first consultation to signing. Book a private consultation) to begin a confidential conversation about your acquisition brief.