Share prices closed slightly higher after a government survey showed average land prices in Tokyo rose for the first time in 15 years in 2005, providing further evidence that Japan is emerging from years of deflation, dealers said. The blue-chip Stock Average closed up 71.50 points or 0.4 pct at 16,560.87 while the broader TOPIX index of all first-section issues rose 9.25 points or 0.4 pct to 1,689.34. For the week, the Nikkei 225 index gained 1.35 pct while the TOPIX rose 1.5 pct. Gainers beat losers 835 to 708, with 153 issues unchanged. Volume fell to 1.46 bln shares from 1.77 bln yesterday. The latest annual government land survey, released late yesterday, showed that the average price of residential property in Tokyo rose 0.8 pct in 2005 while the average price of commercial land increased 2.9 pct from the year earlier. "A rise in land prices is one of the significant signs that Japan is emerging from deflation," said Hideo Mizutani, a chief strategist at Sieg Securities. That pushed up real estate and railroad shares as both industries benefit from higher land prices. Japanese rail companies own large tracts of land near stations across Japan, Mizutani said. Sumitomo Realty & Development gained 75 yen or 2.6 pct to 2,990 while Mitsubishi Estate advanced 50 yen or 2.0 pct to 2,565. East Japan Railway rose 30,000 yen or 3.5 pct to 897,000 and West Japan Railway gained 10,000 yen or 2.0 pct to 500,000.