The nation's total land value plummeted a staggering 1,210.5 trillion yen from the peak at the end of 1990 to the end of 2003, according to a government report released Thursday.

At the end of 2003, the value of all land totaled 1,298.9 trillion yen, about half the 2,452.2 trillion yen valuation at the end of 1990, when Japan's real estate bubble burst.

According to the National Account for 2003 compiled by the Cabinet Office, the national wealth, which represents the net worth of the nation's financial and non-financial assets after deducting liabilities, stood at 2,724.3 trillion yen at the end of 2003, down 2.6 percent from a year earlier. It was the sixth consecutive year of decline.

The loss in national wealth, which includes land and buildings as well as net overseas assets, was attributed largely to continuing degradation of land values.

In 2003, the appraisal of land fell by 71.7 trillion yen, or 5.2 percent, from the previous year, marking the 13th straight year-on-year decline.

The aggrate loss of 1,210.5 trillion yen during the 13 years is about 2.4 times larger than the nominal gross domestic product for fiscal 2003, which stood at 501.3 trillion yen.

The depression of land values caused a 23-percent decline in national wealth in 2003 from the 1990 peak of 3,533.1 trillion yen.

Financial assets, however, showed improved health.

The nation's total share value was 480.1 trillion yen at the end of 2003, up by 108.2 trillion yen from a year earlier for the first nominal capital gain in four years.

Despite the improvement, the nation's total share value incurred an aggrate loss of 400.8 trillion yen compared with the value at the end of 1989 when stocks peaked.

The value of real assets, such as houses and machinery, increased by 0.4 percent year on year to 1,151.9 trillion yen at the end of 2003, marking the first rise in three years.(IHT/Asahi: March 11,2005)