Japanese foreign trade in figures (2024)

Foreign trade is an essential element of the Japanese economy, but the country is not fully open and imposes extensive non-tariff barriers, especially in the agricultural sector. Japan is the world's 5th-largest exporter and importer of goods (WTO), and foreign trade accounts for 47% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). The country mainly exports motor vehicles (11.6% of all exports) being the third exporter of cars worldwide, electronic integrated circuits (4.5%), semiconductors and related items (4.1%), parts and accessories for motor vehicles (3.9%), and petroleum oils (2%). The country's main imports include petroleum oils (11.2%) and gases (8%), coal (6.6%), electronic integrated circuits (3.6%), and telephones (3.2% - data Comtrade for 2022).

Japan’s main export partners in 2022 were China (19.4%), the United States (18.7%), South Korea (7.2%), Hong Kong (4.4%), and Thailand (4.3%); whereas imports came chiefly from China (21%), the U.S. (10.1%), Australia (9.8%), the UAE (5.1%) and Saudi Arabia (4.7%). Japan is the EU’s second-biggest trading partner in Asia after China, and together they both account for about a quarter of the world's GDP. The two parties signed an Economic Partnership Agreement, which entered into force in 2019. Moreover, Japan signed theRegional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP), arguably the largest free trade agreement in history (its signatories include China, Australia, South Korea, etc., cumulating about 30% of global GDP). The RCEP agreement entered into force on 1 January 2022.

The country traditionally has a large trade surplus; however, in recent years the balance turned null and it was negative by 3.8% of GDP in 2022 (World Bank). According to WTO data, Japan's exports of goods reached USD 746.9 billion (-1.2% year-on-year) in 2022, while imports amounted to USD 897.2 billion (+16.6 y-o-y). Concerning the service sector, exports decreased 1.9% year-on-year to USD 166.7 billion, whereas imports were stable at USD 209.5 billion. According to the Ministry of Trade, exports totalled JPY 100.8 billion in 2023 (+2.8%), whereas imports reached JPY 110.1 billion, marking a 7% decrease year-on-year.