Market size of Japan
Japan is a large economy in the world (usually ranked 3rd, after the United States and China, and 4th in 2023) and in RCEP (2nd largest, after China) with a total GDP of 4,617 billion USD in 2023 (World Bank, 2024).
Figure 1: GDP comparison between Japan and RCEP countries in 2023
Source: World Bank, 2024
Over the past decade, Japan's economy has generally developed relatively steadily. Japan's GDP increased from 4.377 trillion USD in 2014 to 4.617 trillion USD in 2023, with an average growth rate of 0.6%/year during this period. Under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan's GDP in 2020 decreased by 4.1%, then gradually recovered and grew again. In 2023, Japan's GDP was completely restored, even higher than before the outbreak.
Figure 2: Japan's GDP in the period 2014-2023
Source: World Bank, 2024
Japan is a country with a relatively large population (about 124.52 million people) and is among the group of high-income developed countries in the world with a GDP per capita of about 37,079 USD/person (World Bank, 2023). Therefore, the purchasing power and ability to pay for consumer goods of Japanese people are assessed at a high level.
A notable point is that, except for the special post-COVID period of 2023-2024 when inflation skyrocketed due to objective reasons, over the past 3 decades, Japan has always maintained a very low inflation rate, so the prices of goods (including domestic and imported) sold on the Japanese market have always been kept stable.
Source: Center for WTO and International Trade
