Japan’s Export Growth Falls Short

(MENAFN) Japan’s overseas shipments recorded a 5.1% annual rise in December, undershooting market expectations, while deliveries to the United States registered a sharp double-digit drop, based on official figures issued by Japan’s Finance Ministry on Thursday.

Financial markets had projected a stronger performance, anticipating exports to advance by 6.1% year on year during December.

Japanese outbound trade weakened around the middle of 2025 amid worries surrounding U.S. tariff policies. Momentum later improved toward year-end after a bilateral trade deal was unveiled, reducing tariffs to 15% and helping exports regain some ground.

Despite that recovery, exports bound for the U.S. declined 11.1% in December, extending a downward pattern. This followed an 8.8% expansion in the prior month, when shipments to the American market rose for the first time since March.

Looking at other destinations, exports to Hong Kong surged 31.1% compared with the same period a year earlier. Shipments to mainland China, Japan’s largest trading partner, grew 5.6%, while total exports to Asia climbed 10.2%.

For the whole of 2025, Japan’s exports increased 3.1%, marking a slower pace than the 6.2% growth recorded in 2024. Over the year, shipments to the U.S. and mainland China—Tokyo’s two biggest trading partners—fell 4.1% and 0.4%, respectively.

Meanwhile, exports to Hong Kong and Taiwan rose 17.8% and 15.1% over the year, partly compensating for declines seen in the United States and China.

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