Japan, located in East Asia, has an area of 377,970 km2. With a population of 126,529,100 people, Japan is a very populated country and has a high population density, with 335 inhabitants per km2.

Its capital is Tokyo and its currency is Japanese Yen. Japan is the third-largest economy in the world by volume of GDP.

The last annual CPI variation rate published in Japan in October 2019 was 0.2%. Japan is one of the countries with the lowest percentage of unemployed people in the world.

There are several reasons why exporting products and services to Japan:

High level of per-capita income

Between 27% and 30% of the per capita income of the Japanese citizen goes to food consumption. Considering that the GDP per capita amounts to USD $ 34,100 per year, the amount of food expenditure per person would range around USD $ 10,000.

Restrictions

Exports from Japan are not subject to any restrictions. The "Export Permit" and the "Export Approval" are necessary even if they only concern internationally recognized goods because they are subject to such restrictions (weapons, nuclear energy, missiles, etc.). The restrictions on rice have been lifted.

Infrastructure

According to Santander Trade Portal “Japan has 128 ports, including 23 main ports, located along the Japanese coast. Ports are the basis of 99% of Japanese foreign trade and 42% of internal distribution. The 'Three Great Bays' handle about 35% of all sea cargo in Japan. This group includes the port of Tokyo (six ports, including Yokohama and Tokyo), the port of Osaka (five ports including Kobe and Osaka) and the port of Ise (five ports, including Nagoya). In 2014, the transfer of merchandise by air reached 8,662 million tons per kilometer (the sixth highest volume globally)”.

Doing business

Japan is in the 39th position of the 190 that make up the Doing Business ranking, which classifies countries according to the ease they offer to do business.

Transparency

Japan has obtained 73 points in the Corruption Perception Index published by the Organization for International Transparency, so its inhabitants have a low level of perception of government corruption.

SOURCES:

https://www.shippingsolutions.com/blog/exporting-to-japan

https://www.allianceexperts.com/en/knowledge/countries/asia/exports-to-japan/

https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2013/mar/05/guide-exporting-japan

https://santandertrade.com/en/portal/international-shipments/japan/exporting-products