Japan 2024 Trade Statistics — JPY 96.4T Exports, JPY 109T Imports Decomposed
With Japan's Ministry of Finance customs data for 2024 now finalized, this post summarizes the year in three dimensions — commodity, country, and port — using Kouro's HS2 aggregations.
Big picture — exports up 10% vs 2022, imports down 5%
| Year | Exports | Imports |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ¥88.2T | ¥114.4T |
| 2023 | ¥91.1T | ¥106.6T |
| 2024 | ¥96.4T | ¥109.0T |
Exports rose for the third consecutive year. Imports continued to drift down from the 2022 energy-shock peak (¥114.4T) but ticked up slightly versus 2023.
Three commodities drive the export base
The top three HS chapters accounted for about 58% (¥55.5T) of 2024 exports.
| HS2 | Category | 2024 Exports |
|---|---|---|
| 87 | Vehicles and parts | ¥22.8T |
| 84 | Machinery (incl. semiconductor equipment) | ¥18.9T |
| 85 | Electrical equipment (ICs etc.) | ¥14.7T |
Passenger cars (HS 8703) alone reached ¥16.2T — roughly 70% of HS 87 — with the US absorbing ¥7.5T of that single line.
Integrated circuits (HS 8542) at ¥4.9T plus semiconductor manufacturing equipment (HS 8486) at ¥4.5T gives "semiconductor-related" exports a combined ¥10T-class footprint.
Imports — energy still the largest category
| HS2 | Category | 2024 Imports |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Mineral fuels (crude, LNG, naphtha) | ¥25.4T |
| 85 | Electrical equipment | ¥15.9T |
| 84 | Machinery | ¥11.0T |
Mineral fuel (HS 27) imports declined from ¥33.6T (2022) → ¥27.3T (2023) → ¥25.4T (2024), driven by softer crude prices and intermittent yen strength. Within this chapter, naphtha (HS 271012190) remains a structurally large petrochemical feedstock import.
Pharmaceutical (HS 30) imports have grown to ¥4.3T, now ranking just behind HS 84. The US (¥1.0T), Ireland (¥0.5T), UK (¥0.4T) and Switzerland (¥0.4T) dominate this flow.
Top partners — US and China continue trading places
Top export destinations
- United States — ¥19.7T
- China — ¥17.1T
- Taiwan — ¥6.4T
- South Korea — ¥6.2T
- Hong Kong — ¥4.2T
Top import sources
- China — ¥24.6T
- United States — ¥12.3T
- Australia — ¥8.0T
- UAE — ¥5.6T
- Saudi Arabia — ¥4.5T
The US remains the #1 export market (continuing the reversal vs China); China is roughly double the next largest import source, with Australia and the Middle Eastern energy suppliers filling the rest of the top five.
By customs district — Nagoya leads exports
2024 exports by customs district: Nagoya ¥15.7T, Narita Air Cargo ¥13.7T, Yokohama ¥8.1T, Kobe ¥7.1T, Tokyo ¥6.8T. The vehicle-driven Nagoya gateway and the semiconductor-driven Narita airport together confirm the well-known structure of Japan's outbound trade.
Every figure above is reproducible in real time from Kouro's analysis page by selecting the relevant HS code, country, and period. Follow the inline HS code links to drill into monthly time series and country shares.