Xifres de comerç exterior de Japó

Foreign Trade in Figures

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 among the world's largest exporters and importers of goods, and foreign trade accounts for 45% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). The country mainly exports motor vehicles (15.4% of all exports in 2023), being the third exporter of cars worldwide, electronic integrated circuits (4.3%), parts and accessories for motor vehicles (3.8%), semiconductors and related items (3.5%), and earth-moving machines (1.9%). The country's main imports include petroleum oils (10.8%) and gases (7%), coal (5.6%), electronic integrated circuits (3.9%), and telephones (3.7% - data Comtrade for 2023).

Japan’s main export partners in 2023 were the United States (20.2%), China (17.6%), South Korea (6.5%), Hong Kong (4.5%), and Thailand (4.1%); whereas imports came chiefly from China (22.4%), the U.S. (10.1%), Australia (8.6%), the UAE (4.9%) and Saudi Arabia (4.6%). Japan is the EU’s second-biggest trading partner in Asia after China. The two parties signed an Economic Partnership Agreement, which entered into force in 2019. Moreover, Japan signed the Regional 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.

Traditionally, the country has a large trade surplus; however, in recent years, the trend has been inverted and the balance was negative by 1.5% of GDP in 2023 (World Bank). In the same year, Japan's exports of goods reached USD 717.3 billion (-3.9% year-on-year), while imports amounted to USD 785.6 billion (-12.4% y-o-y). Concerning the service sector, exports increased by 20.5% year-on-year to USD 204.3 billion, whereas imports - at USD 227.8 billion – increased at a slower pace (7.5%). According to preliminary figures from the Ministry of Trade, exports totalled JPY 107 billion in 2023 (+6.2%), whereas imports reached JPY 112.4 billion, marking a 1.8% increase year-on-year.