Base metals and articles of base metal (15)
Base metals and articles of base metal (statistical code 15): exports in September 2026 were JPY 824,009,991,000 (+11.2% year on year). Main destinations: People's Republic of China (21.0%), Thailand (10.9%), United States of America (9.7%), Republic of Korea (9.6%), India (7.5%). Figures for September 2026 are revised.
Imports in the same month were JPY 576,438,099,000, a trade surplus of JPY 247,571,892,000. (imports: preliminary; exports: revised)
Import statistics for this code
Monthly statistics
| Month | Status | Export value | Quantity | Unit price | Year-on-year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | revised | JPY 824,009,991,000 | — | — | +11.2% |
| August 2026 | revised | JPY 845,080,342,000 | — | — | +19.4% |
| July 2026 | revised | JPY 887,696,494,000 | — | — | +20.9% |
| June 2026 | revised | JPY 883,794,918,000 | — | — | +24.2% |
| May 2026 | revised | JPY 810,099,392,000 | — | — | +19.1% |
| April 2026 | revised | JPY 824,625,529,000 | — | — | +14.1% |
| March 2026 | revised | JPY 892,831,831,000 | — | — | +13.0% |
| February 2026 | revised | JPY 729,083,826,000 | — | — | -1.2% |
| January 2026 | revised | JPY 685,402,318,000 | — | — | +4.8% |
| December 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 786,241,402,000 | — | — | +3.8% |
| November 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 723,596,525,000 | — | — | +1.0% |
| October 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 756,296,585,000 | — | — | +5.0% |
| September 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 741,139,403,000 | — | — | +3.1% |
| August 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 707,519,132,000 | — | — | -5.0% |
| July 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 734,414,257,000 | — | — | -11.5% |
| June 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 711,843,787,000 | — | — | -9.2% |
| May 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 680,265,031,000 | — | — | -11.0% |
| April 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 723,007,636,000 | — | — | -2.1% |
| March 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 790,416,501,000 | — | — | -2.3% |
| February 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 737,866,245,000 | — | — | +3.2% |
| January 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 653,930,221,000 | — | — | -1.3% |
| December 2024 | final | JPY 757,375,354,000 | — | — | -0.1% |
| November 2024 | final | JPY 716,308,544,000 | — | — | +0.5% |
| October 2024 | final | JPY 719,945,393,000 | — | — | -5.3% |
Subcategories
- Iron and steel.
- Articles of iron or steel.
- Copper and articles thereof.
- Nickel and articles thereof.
- Aluminium and articles thereof.
- Lead and articles thereof.
- Zinc and articles thereof.
- Tin and articles thereof.
- Other base metals; cermets; articles thereof.
- Tools, implements, cutlery, spoons and forks, of base metal; parts thereof of base metal.
- Miscellaneous articles of base metal.
Long-term trend (from 1988)
Exports in 1988 were JPY 2,785,390,399,000; in 2025, JPY 8,746,536,725,000, about 3.1 times as much.
| Year | Imports | Exports | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Sep) | JPY 4,919,796,208,000 | JPY 7,382,624,641,000 | surplus JPY 2,462,828,433,000 |
| 2025 | JPY 5,424,463,771,000 | JPY 8,746,536,725,000 | surplus JPY 3,322,072,954,000 |
| 2024 | JPY 5,303,405,607,000 | JPY 8,960,754,734,000 | surplus JPY 3,657,349,127,000 |
| 2023 | JPY 5,087,169,650,000 | JPY 8,751,726,584,000 | surplus JPY 3,664,556,934,000 |
| 2022 | JPY 5,621,531,576,000 | JPY 8,831,920,610,000 | surplus JPY 3,210,389,034,000 |
| 2021 | JPY 4,205,701,880,000 | JPY 7,433,437,587,000 | surplus JPY 3,227,735,707,000 |
| 2020 | JPY 2,991,709,599,000 | JPY 5,320,204,408,000 | surplus JPY 2,328,494,809,000 |
| 2019 | Not available (source gap) | JPY 5,827,813,671,000 | Not available (source gap) |
| 2018 | Not available (source gap) | JPY 6,496,252,904,000 | Not available (source gap) |
| 2017 | JPY 3,654,825,322,000 | JPY 6,099,678,239,000 | surplus JPY 2,444,852,917,000 |
| 2016 | JPY 3,017,258,931,000 | JPY 5,319,792,017,000 | surplus JPY 2,302,533,086,000 |
| 2015 | JPY 3,643,833,254,000 | JPY 6,471,043,693,000 | surplus JPY 2,827,210,439,000 |
| 2014 | JPY 3,765,063,666,000 | JPY 6,775,827,611,000 | surplus JPY 3,010,763,945,000 |
| 2013 | JPY 3,085,941,178,000 | JPY 6,552,332,949,000 | surplus JPY 3,466,391,771,000 |
| 2012 | JPY 2,807,398,250,000 | JPY 6,008,867,712,000 | surplus JPY 3,201,469,462,000 |
| 2011 | JPY 3,240,917,605,000 | JPY 6,116,757,034,000 | surplus JPY 2,875,839,429,000 |
| 2010 | JPY 2,887,600,758,000 | JPY 6,166,470,036,000 | surplus JPY 3,278,869,278,000 |
| 2009 | JPY 2,022,343,809,000 | JPY 4,958,849,487,000 | surplus JPY 2,936,505,678,000 |
| 2008 | JPY 4,246,870,999,000 | JPY 7,404,109,896,000 | surplus JPY 3,157,238,897,000 |
| 2007 | JPY 4,458,775,590,000 | JPY 7,032,947,878,000 | surplus JPY 2,574,172,288,000 |
| 2006 | JPY 3,564,312,452,000 | JPY 6,087,936,057,000 | surplus JPY 2,523,623,605,000 |
| 2005 | JPY 2,842,472,412,000 | JPY 5,050,333,805,000 | surplus JPY 2,207,861,393,000 |
| 2004 | JPY 2,447,408,126,000 | JPY 4,295,497,108,000 | surplus JPY 1,848,088,982,000 |
| 2003 | JPY 1,853,267,186,000 | JPY 3,521,143,738,000 | surplus JPY 1,667,876,552,000 |
| 2002 | JPY 1,604,423,377,000 | JPY 3,314,189,727,000 | surplus JPY 1,709,766,350,000 |
| 2001 | JPY 1,664,267,149,000 | JPY 2,952,483,436,000 | surplus JPY 1,288,216,287,000 |
| 2000 | JPY 1,749,587,260,000 | JPY 2,881,929,352,000 | surplus JPY 1,132,342,092,000 |
| 1999 | JPY 1,490,285,901,000 | JPY 2,748,828,856,000 | surplus JPY 1,258,542,955,000 |
| 1998 | JPY 1,757,737,633,000 | JPY 3,249,883,456,000 | surplus JPY 1,492,145,823,000 |
| 1997 | JPY 2,108,232,925,000 | JPY 3,277,267,565,000 | surplus JPY 1,169,034,640,000 |
| 1996 | JPY 1,834,252,841,000 | JPY 2,808,024,451,000 | surplus JPY 973,771,610,000 |
| 1995 | JPY 1,857,795,948,000 | JPY 2,711,409,585,000 | surplus JPY 853,613,637,000 |
| 1994 | JPY 1,436,806,941,000 | JPY 2,497,843,653,000 | surplus JPY 1,061,036,712,000 |
| 1993 | JPY 1,400,012,156,000 | JPY 2,571,383,950,000 | surplus JPY 1,171,371,794,000 |
| 1992 | JPY 1,596,409,991,000 | JPY 2,722,520,903,000 | surplus JPY 1,126,110,912,000 |
| 1991 | JPY 2,270,916,454,000 | JPY 2,854,314,887,000 | surplus JPY 583,398,433,000 |
| 1990 | JPY 2,311,093,420,000 | JPY 2,834,526,836,000 | surplus JPY 523,433,416,000 |
| 1989 | JPY 2,309,930,550,000 | JPY 2,980,321,089,000 | surplus JPY 670,390,539,000 |
| 1988 | JPY 1,964,070,623,000 | JPY 2,785,390,399,000 | surplus JPY 821,319,776,000 |
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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