TOKYO -- Brisk construction demand is pushing up construction costs in Japan amid a continuing labor shortage for the industry and rising materials prices. The higher construction costs could affect private housing investments and companies' willingness to open stores, weighing on economic growth.
Skyscrapers are constructed in Tokyo's Chuo Ward.
The construction cost per square meter of floor space in May was up 9% compared to a year earlier, at 187,000 yen ($1,820). It is the 16th consecutive month of year-on-year increases for the industry, and the highest since January 1993, immediately after the bubble burst.
