On this page we will discuss Japan's top trading partners, and what their top import and exports are.
Top Trading Partners
From this image we see that as of 2011, China is Japan's biggest trade partner followed by the United States. This is possibly due to that China is very close geographically, the exchange rate is in Japan's favor with 10 (about 0.10 USD) yen is about 0.8 yuan (or 8 jiao). Also Japan is apart of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) which regulates trade between 21 Asian and Pacific countries.
The APEC
Japan is part of a 21 country economic and trade agreement called Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The APEC regulates the trade trying help the economy in these countries, by reducing the trade barriers between countries. They do this by lowering tariffs, diminish quotas, and break down other trade barriers. This is to try to create a more free trade in order to create better economies for these countries.
These countries include:
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua, New Guinea, Peru, The Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United States, and Viet Nam. This is an advantage for Japan because many of the major countries are apart of APEC, which means better trading. This will help the Japanese economy greatly by creating jobs from other countries outsourcing, and Japan's companies growing.
These countries include:
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua, New Guinea, Peru, The Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United States, and Viet Nam. This is an advantage for Japan because many of the major countries are apart of APEC, which means better trading. This will help the Japanese economy greatly by creating jobs from other countries outsourcing, and Japan's companies growing.
Top Export and Import
Japan's major Exports are vehicles and motor parts followed by semiconductors and steel products. The major imports for Japan are mineral fuels and oil products. This trade pattern shows Japan's comparative advantage. Japan having a higher level of education are able to make more complex items such as computers, mp3 players, and other electronics. Japan is also known for their quality of cars, thus giving a comparative advantage, so allowing these items to be Japan's biggest exports. But Japan's lack of raw resources due to lack of land have a production disadvantage, thus needing the imports of these materials.