Japan is an island nation stretching along the western Pacific Ocean in Northeast Asia. This geographical condition facilitates trade and the exchange of goods by sea between Japan and other countries in the world.

For many years, Japan has been known as one of the countries with the most active trade activities in the world. According to ITC Trademap, Japan's total import and export turnover in 2023 reached 1,506.2 billion USD (accounting for about 3.2% of the world's trade), of which exports reached 719.8 billion USD and imports reached 786.4 billion USD. With these results, Japan ranked 5th among the top exporting countries and also ranked 5th among the top importing countries in the world. Regarding the trade balance, although there have been fluctuations over the years, Japan is mainly a trade deficit with the trade deficit value increasingly widening (with a record deficit of 153 billion USD recorded in 2022). The reason for this situation is said to be that Japan has very few natural resources, so it has to import almost all types of minerals and important energy resources (such as oil, coal) with very high import value. In addition, the low yen exchange rate along with escalating world commodity prices are important factors contributing to the record trade deficit in some periods of this country.

Table 1: Japan’s import-export turnover in the period 2014 – 2023

Unit: billion USD

Source: ITC Trademap, 2024

Imports

Over the past decade, Japan's import turnover has fluctuated and generally tended to decrease, from 812.2 billion USD in 2014 to 786.4 billion USD in 2023 (ITC Trademap data). After a period of sharp decline (2019-2020) due to the impact of trade tensions between Japan and South Korea and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan's import turnover has recovered, even reaching a record import level of 905 billion USD in 2022. However, Japan's import value then returned to a decline in 2023, although the import value is still higher than the period of 2018-2019 before COVID-19.

Regarding the structure of imported goods: Japan mainly imports products in the mining sector such as mineral fuels, mineral oils in Chapter 27, ores in Chapter 26 and precious stones and precious metals in Chapter 71 (accounting for about 30% of the country's total imports). In fact, Japan is a country with very few natural resources while industrial production accounts for a significant proportion, which explains why Japan has a huge demand for these products. Next, Japan imports a lot of machinery and electrical/mechanical equipment in Chapters 84 and 85 (accounting for about 23.5% of total imports). In addition, Japan also has a relatively large import demand for pharmaceutical products, organic chemicals, plastics, etc.

Table 2: Top 10 imported products of Japan in 2023

Source: ITC Trademap, 2024

Regarding import partners, China is Japan's largest import source, accounting for 22% of the country's total imports in 2023. Next, Japan imports a lot from the United States, with the import proportion from this country accounting for nearly 11%. In addition, Japan also has a need to import many goods from Australia, UAE, Taiwan (China), South Korea, etc. Vietnam is also one of Japan's largest import sources, accounting for 3.3% of the country's total imports (ITC Trademap, 2023).

Table 3: Top 10 main import partners of Japan in 2023

Source: ITC Trademap, 2024

Exports

Japan is currently the 5th largest exporting country in the world, accounting for about 3.1% of total global exports in 2023 (ITC Trademap data). During the period 2014-2023, Japan's exports, although fluctuating, generally tend to increase, from 690.2 billion USD in 2014 to 719.8 billion USD in 2023.

Regarding the structure of export products: As a developed country with leading technology in the world, Japan's main export products include machinery, electrical/mechanical equipment, vehicles of all kinds in chapters 84, 85, 87, 90 (accounting for nearly 60% of Japan's total export value). In addition, Japan also exports many iron and steel products, plastics, chemicals, etc.

Table 4: Top 10 main export products of Japan in 2023

Source: ITC Trademap, 2024

In terms of export partners, China and the United States have always been Japan's leading export markets (in 2023, the United States overtook China to become Japan's largest export market, accounting for about 20% of the country's total exports). After these two major partners, a number of Asian economies such as South Korea, Taiwan (China), Hong Kong (China), Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam have also been Japan's main export markets for many years.

Table 5: Top 10 main export partners of Japan in 2023

Source: ITC Trademap, 2024

Source: Center for WTO and International Trade

• Market size of Japan
• Consumer characteristics in Japan
• Characteristics of Japan’s distribution system
• Vietnam's exports to Japan