Japan’s distribution centers are rebounding from record-high vacancies two years ago amid demand for modern storage after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami destroyed industrial spaces, drawing investors looking for returns amid a slump in the office market.

Investment in logistics may surge to more than 2 trillion yen ($26 billion) this year from almost zero in 2002, according to CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. Global Logistic Properties Ltd., the biggest owner of Japanese industrial properties, started exclusive talks in July to buy about 20 properties from LaSalle Investment Management Inc., two people with direct knowledge of the deal said then, outbidding Mitsubishi Corp. and Blackstone Group LP. Mitsubishi Estate Co., Japan’s largest developer by market value, entered the industrial market for the first time in April with a Tokyo Bay logistics center it’s building with Mitsui & Co., the nation’s second-largest trading house. Mitsui Fudosan Co., Japan’s biggest developer by sales, said on Sept. 8 it may start investing in storage and distribution centers in the country for the first time.

The vacancy rate for warehouses fell to 7 percent in June from a peak of 20 percent in September 2009. The shortage of new logistics centers and warehouses may lift effective rents, or the amount tenants pay property owners, by as much as 10 percent over the next six to 12 months, Yamada of Prologis said. Industrial rents in Tokyo are the most expensive in the world, followed by London and Singapore, according to CB Richard Ellis. Annual average warehouse rental in Tokyo was $22.15 per square foot in the first quarter.