TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan's priciest plot of land hit a 22-year high even as nationwide prices notched a seven-year slide, widening the divide between major cities and the outlying regions, a government survey showed on Wednesday.

A block in Tokyo's Ginza district containing the posh Kyukyodo stationery shop rose 14 per cent last year to 27 million yen per square metre (S$297,000 psm), the highest for any plot in Japan since 1993, the survey by the National Tax Agency showed.

At the same time, the average land price nationwide for tax purposes slipped 0.4 per cent, narrowing from the previous year's 0.7 per cent decline, the survey found.