Japan's December imports up 1.8%, machinery drives growth

Imports to Japan rose 1.8% year-on-year to JPY 9,779.67 billion in December 2024, reaching a five-month high, following a 3.8% decline in November.

Japan's December imports up 1.8%, machinery drives growth

However, the growth was below the expected 2.6% increase. Purchases of "other goods" grew by 8.2%, led by clothing (9.0%), while machinery imports surged by 21.7%, driven by computers (25.7%). Manufactured goods imports also jumped by 12.8%, primarily due to non-ferrous metals (28.2%), and chemical purchases rose by 2.0%. On the downside, mineral fuel imports fell 8.4%, with petroleum (11.6%) and LNG (8.3%) declining. Electrical machinery imports decreased 7.2% due to a sharp drop in semiconductors (-21.4%), and transport equipment arrivals dropped 5.7%.

Japan's imports rise from key partners, fall from others

Imports from China (5.7%), the US (1.4%), Hong Kong (27.9%), South Korea (5.7%), India (56.6%), and the EU (7.6%) rose, while imports from Taiwan (-11.8%), Russia (-32.8%), and Australia (-10.7%) decreased.