Main export partners of Japan 2023

Japan’s trade openness has increased significantly in the last decades as the country is working towards market liberalization and the expansion of trade relations. However, despite the increasing number of bilateral agreements created with trading partners, the United States and China remain Japan's biggest export markets. In 2023, the United States received around 20 percent of commodities leaving Japan. China followed with a 17.6 percent share, with general and electrical machinery being major goods exported from Japan to the East Asian partner.

What goods are leaving Japan?

Japan exported commodities valued at around 101 trillion Japanese yen in 2023. Transport equipment and machinery were the leading commodities leaving the country, driven by the prominence of domestic automotive and machinery brands in the global market. Motor vehicles are a long-standing pillar of the export market, with widely recognized brands like Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Toyota originating from Japan.

Japan’s export position in the global market

The demand for Japanese goods has been rising globally, pushed by the favorable impression of quality products among consumers and businesses. While Japan is not a heavily trade-dependent nation, the trade openness ratio jumped significantly in 2022, as the sum of imports and exports constituted a 46.8 percent share of the gross domestic product. Commodity exports themselves accounted for a 17.6 percent share of the Japanese GDP, whereas service exports are a minor segment in Japan’s trade accounts.