Capital: Tokyo
Language(s): Japanese
Population: 127,690,000
Total Area: 377,873 km²
GDP (in million USD): 5,458,872
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south.
House prices in Japan have continued to fall, as the country's recovery fades due to weakening exports, the appreciating yen, and deflation.
Land prices have become more resilient. During the year to August 2012, the average price of land in Tokyo was unchanged at JPY187,000 (US$2,407) per sq. m., while in Osaka Metropolitan Area the average land price increased by 1.7% to JPY117,000 (US$1,506) per sq. m.
During the first seven months of 2012, the total number of new dwellings started in Japan increased y-o-y by 2.5% to 490,781, mainly due to reconstruction after the Great Tohoku Earthquake, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).
In Tokyo the number condos sold increased by 10.6% to 21,039, while detached houses sold increased by 9.5% during the first eight months of 2012, compared to the same period last year, according to LIJ.