Iron and steel. (72)
Iron and steel. (statistical code 72): imports in September 2026 were JPY 88,420,127,000 (-0.8% year on year), quantity 463,415,524 KG, unit price JPY 191 per KG. Main origins: Republic of Korea (36.9%), People's Republic of China (23.3%), Taiwan (7.1%), Kazakhstan (7.0%), India (4.9%). Figures for September 2026 are preliminary.
Exports in the same month were JPY 317,313,807,000, a trade surplus of JPY 228,893,680,000. (imports: preliminary; exports: revised)
Export statistics for this code
Monthly statistics
| Month | Status | Import value | Quantity | Unit price | Year-on-year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | preliminary | JPY 88,420,127,000 | 463,415,524 | JPY 191 | -0.8% |
| August 2026 | revised | JPY 92,202,428,000 | 483,626,507 | JPY 191 | +14.2% |
| July 2026 | revised | JPY 107,738,863,000 | 601,495,069 | JPY 179 | +7.2% |
| June 2026 | revised | JPY 90,835,790,000 | 518,512,478 | JPY 175 | +15.8% |
| May 2026 | revised | JPY 79,840,496,000 | 476,196,998 | JPY 168 | -10.3% |
| April 2026 | revised | JPY 96,514,870,000 | 518,300,555 | JPY 186 | -0.5% |
| March 2026 | revised | JPY 91,222,491,000 | 547,780,686 | JPY 167 | +5.1% |
| February 2026 | revised | JPY 80,648,197,000 | 518,434,531 | JPY 156 | -5.2% |
| January 2026 | revised | JPY 84,764,904,000 | 513,483,203 | JPY 165 | -16.2% |
| December 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 90,754,594,000 | 584,242,579 | JPY 155 | -7.8% |
| November 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 89,717,422,000 | 564,053,389 | JPY 159 | -9.4% |
| October 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 82,492,560,000 | 538,679,953 | JPY 153 | -22.3% |
| September 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 89,174,925,000 | 580,283,748 | JPY 154 | -10.7% |
| August 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 80,742,660,000 | 522,156,888 | JPY 155 | -8.4% |
| July 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 100,542,236,000 | 659,391,403 | JPY 152 | -15.9% |
| June 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 78,410,133,000 | 515,554,853 | JPY 152 | -21.5% |
| May 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 89,016,326,000 | 597,475,783 | JPY 149 | -12.9% |
| April 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 97,014,984,000 | 603,711,354 | JPY 161 | -15.4% |
| March 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 86,791,955,000 | 550,069,746 | JPY 158 | -4.9% |
| February 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 85,058,082,000 | 522,397,350 | JPY 163 | -7.5% |
| January 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 101,181,639,000 | 588,854,609 | JPY 172 | +6.8% |
| December 2024 | final | JPY 98,455,358,000 | 622,707,716 | JPY 158 | +2.4% |
| November 2024 | final | JPY 99,023,324,000 | 609,294,390 | JPY 163 | +9.8% |
| October 2024 | final | JPY 106,186,649,000 | 648,341,032 | JPY 164 | +1.6% |
Subcategories
- Pig iron and spiegeleisen in pigs, blocks or other primary forms
- Ferro-alloys
- Ferrous products obtained by direct reduction of iron ore and other spongy ferrous products, in lumps, pellets or similar forms; iron having a minimum purity by weight of 99.94 %, in lumps, pellets or similar forms
- Ferrous waste and scrap; remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel
- Granules and powders, of pig iron, spiegeleisen, iron or steel
- Iron and non-alloy steel in ingots or other primary forms (excluding iron of heading 72.03)
- Semi-finished products of iron or non-alloy steel
- Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, hot-rolled, not clad, plated or coated
- Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, cold-rolled (cold-reduced), not clad, plated or coated
- Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, clad, plated or coated
- Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of less than 600 mm, not clad, plated or coated
- Flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, of a width of less than 600mm, clad, plated or coated
- Bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils, of iron or non-alloy steel
- Other bars and rods of iron or non-alloy steel, not further worked than forged, hot-rolled, hot-drawn or hot-extruded, but including those twisted after rolling
- Other bars and rods of iron or non-alloy steel
- Angles, shapes and sections of iron or non-alloy steel
- Wire of iron or non-alloy steel
- Stainless steel in ingots or other primary forms; semi-finished products of stainless steel
- Flat-rolled products of stainless steel, of a width of 600 mm or more
- Flat-rolled products of stainless steel, of a width of less than 600 mm
- 7221
- Other bars and rods of stainless steel; angles, shapes and sections of stainless steel
- 7223
- Other alloy steel in ingots or other primary forms; semi-finished products of other alloy steel
- Flat-rolled products of other alloy steel, of a width of 600 mm or more
- Flat-rolled products of other alloy steel, of a width of less than 600 mm
- Bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils, of other alloy steel
- Other bars and rods of other alloy steel; angles, shapes and sections, of other alloy steel; hollow drill bars and rods, of alloy or non-alloy steel
- Wire of other alloy steel
- 72XX
Long-term trend (from 1988)
Imports in 1988 were JPY 600,252,488,000; in 2025, JPY 1,070,897,516,000, about 1.8 times as much.
| Year | Imports | Exports | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Sep) | JPY 812,188,166,000 | JPY 2,843,169,236,000 | surplus JPY 2,030,981,070,000 |
| 2025 | JPY 1,070,897,516,000 | JPY 3,740,534,182,000 | surplus JPY 2,669,636,666,000 |
| 2024 | JPY 1,205,872,442,000 | JPY 4,147,307,812,000 | surplus JPY 2,941,435,370,000 |
| 2023 | JPY 1,169,648,650,000 | JPY 4,283,773,600,000 | surplus JPY 3,114,124,950,000 |
| 2022 | JPY 1,341,424,690,000 | JPY 4,590,273,828,000 | surplus JPY 3,248,849,138,000 |
| 2021 | JPY 956,972,727,000 | JPY 3,816,310,931,000 | surplus JPY 2,859,338,204,000 |
| 2020 | JPY 608,369,772,000 | JPY 2,432,139,673,000 | surplus JPY 1,823,769,901,000 |
| 2019 | Not available (source gap) | JPY 2,844,493,003,000 | Not available (source gap) |
| 2018 | Not available (source gap) | JPY 3,304,120,489,000 | Not available (source gap) |
| 2017 | JPY 825,063,073,000 | JPY 3,138,289,604,000 | surplus JPY 2,313,226,531,000 |
| 2016 | JPY 616,978,504,000 | JPY 2,661,509,644,000 | surplus JPY 2,044,531,140,000 |
| 2015 | JPY 748,404,102,000 | JPY 3,328,223,558,000 | surplus JPY 2,579,819,456,000 |
| 2014 | JPY 901,678,472,000 | JPY 3,535,214,233,000 | surplus JPY 2,633,535,761,000 |
| 2013 | JPY 720,177,402,000 | JPY 3,445,778,042,000 | surplus JPY 2,725,600,640,000 |
| 2012 | JPY 735,264,528,000 | JPY 3,150,320,778,000 | surplus JPY 2,415,056,250,000 |
| 2011 | JPY 905,543,445,000 | JPY 3,357,334,096,000 | surplus JPY 2,451,790,651,000 |
| 2010 | JPY 744,277,065,000 | JPY 3,402,808,704,000 | surplus JPY 2,658,531,639,000 |
| 2009 | JPY 458,152,780,000 | JPY 2,649,358,860,000 | surplus JPY 2,191,206,080,000 |
| 2008 | JPY 1,171,960,985,000 | JPY 4,064,295,615,000 | surplus JPY 2,892,334,630,000 |
| 2007 | JPY 975,633,281,000 | JPY 3,542,327,314,000 | surplus JPY 2,566,694,033,000 |
| 2006 | JPY 714,244,519,000 | JPY 3,020,489,910,000 | surplus JPY 2,306,245,391,000 |
| 2005 | JPY 751,299,547,000 | JPY 2,689,016,740,000 | surplus JPY 1,937,717,193,000 |
| 2004 | JPY 568,949,250,000 | JPY 2,292,420,584,000 | surplus JPY 1,723,471,334,000 |
| 2003 | JPY 358,520,130,000 | JPY 1,821,621,910,000 | surplus JPY 1,463,101,780,000 |
| 2002 | JPY 273,364,290,000 | JPY 1,646,337,202,000 | surplus JPY 1,372,972,912,000 |
| 2001 | JPY 301,380,988,000 | JPY 1,355,822,936,000 | surplus JPY 1,054,441,948,000 |
| 2000 | JPY 371,346,386,000 | JPY 1,396,754,126,000 | surplus JPY 1,025,407,740,000 |
| 1999 | JPY 313,905,843,000 | JPY 1,294,667,424,000 | surplus JPY 980,761,581,000 |
| 1998 | JPY 383,835,139,000 | JPY 1,555,223,950,000 | surplus JPY 1,171,388,811,000 |
| 1997 | JPY 508,665,911,000 | JPY 1,552,844,443,000 | surplus JPY 1,044,178,532,000 |
| 1996 | JPY 455,430,819,000 | JPY 1,342,148,212,000 | surplus JPY 886,717,393,000 |
| 1995 | JPY 540,385,927,000 | JPY 1,357,730,720,000 | surplus JPY 817,344,793,000 |
| 1994 | JPY 403,507,369,000 | JPY 1,193,483,273,000 | surplus JPY 789,975,904,000 |
| 1993 | JPY 441,826,801,000 | JPY 1,245,533,141,000 | surplus JPY 803,706,340,000 |
| 1992 | JPY 456,599,037,000 | JPY 1,286,703,450,000 | surplus JPY 830,104,413,000 |
| 1991 | JPY 729,112,047,000 | JPY 1,312,730,772,000 | surplus JPY 583,618,725,000 |
| 1990 | JPY 655,154,334,000 | JPY 1,338,840,670,000 | surplus JPY 683,686,336,000 |
| 1989 | JPY 692,381,621,000 | JPY 1,561,230,081,000 | surplus JPY 868,848,460,000 |
| 1988 | JPY 600,252,488,000 | JPY 1,421,150,981,000 | surplus JPY 820,898,493,000 |
Some goods moved between chapters with the HS revisions of 1996, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022.
The e-Stat table 'Final Trade Statistics by Commodity and Country (Imports), 2016–2020' (Ministry of Finance Trade Statistics of Japan) lacks data for some commodities from April 2018 to December 2019, so values for this period are not shown. This is a problem in the source data; official annual totals from the Ministry of Finance differ.
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