Bloomberg.com: Japan

Bloomberg.com: Japan: "Land Prices in Parts of Tokyo Comparable to Bubble-Era Levels

By Kathleen Chu

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Land prices in parts of central Tokyo last year reached comparable levels to 1991, when nationwide land prices peaked, indicating the possibility of a ``mini bubble,'' Mizuho Research Institute said in a report.

Mizuho estimated that the most expensive 5 percent of land in Tokyo's 23 wards averaged 33.7 million yen ($283,861) per square meter in 2006, after adjusting prices to eliminate the effects of interest rates and the economic growth rate. That was greater than the average of 31 million yen per square meter in 1991, the institute said."