Trends in Japanese Textile and Clothing Imports
Japan has been transformed in recent decades from a major exporter of textiles and clothing to a major importer. It is now the world’s fourth largest import market after the EU, the USA, and Hong Kong, and the third largest consumer of imports.
In 2004 Japanese textile and clothing imports rose in value by 11.0% to US$26.6 bn as the economy recovered. After a 0.3% fall in 2002 and a 1.4% rise in 2003, real GDP grew by 2.6% in 2004 while private consumption growth picked up further to 1.5%. China dominated imports with 74.0% of the total by value although its share in clothing (82.4%) was almost double that in textiles (46.3%). Italy was the number two supplier with 4.9% of imports by value. But its volume share was only 0.5%, reflecting the high value of Italian supplies. By contrast, the USA’s volume share, at 4.6%, was almost double its 2.5% value share. US supplies to Japan consist mainly of textiles, which tend to be of lower unit value than clothing.
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