Base metals and articles of base metal (15)
Base metals and articles of base metal (statistical code 15): imports in September 2026 were JPY 576,438,099,000 (+23.0% year on year). Main origins: People's Republic of China (29.5%), Republic of Korea (8.6%), United States of America (7.7%), Thailand (5.6%), Taiwan (5.2%). Figures for September 2026 are preliminary.
Exports in the same month were JPY 824,009,991,000, a trade surplus of JPY 247,571,892,000. (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 576,438,099,000 | — | — | +23.0% |
| August 2026 | revised | JPY 572,920,804,000 | — | — | +37.0% |
| July 2026 | revised | JPY 648,993,774,000 | — | — | +39.8% |
| June 2026 | revised | JPY 589,420,232,000 | — | — | +30.4% |
| May 2026 | revised | JPY 510,971,330,000 | — | — | +15.1% |
| April 2026 | revised | JPY 535,961,622,000 | — | — | +12.4% |
| March 2026 | revised | JPY 519,901,254,000 | — | — | +19.2% |
| February 2026 | revised | JPY 448,035,093,000 | — | — | +15.3% |
| January 2026 | revised | JPY 517,154,000,000 | — | — | +5.8% |
| December 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 465,442,519,000 | — | — | -0.3% |
| November 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 451,354,768,000 | — | — | +3.4% |
| October 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 470,145,758,000 | — | — | -4.7% |
| September 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 468,507,321,000 | — | — | +8.2% |
| August 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 418,332,475,000 | — | — | +0.0% |
| July 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 464,273,566,000 | — | — | -10.4% |
| June 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 452,072,899,000 | — | — | +3.2% |
| May 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 444,016,772,000 | — | — | -4.8% |
| April 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 476,699,521,000 | — | — | +8.9% |
| March 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 436,022,223,000 | — | — | +12.5% |
| February 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 388,585,291,000 | — | — | -0.8% |
| January 2025 | revised (second) | JPY 489,010,658,000 | — | — | +17.7% |
| December 2024 | final | JPY 467,052,958,000 | — | — | +17.8% |
| November 2024 | final | JPY 436,686,521,000 | — | — | +2.5% |
| October 2024 | final | JPY 493,076,316,000 | — | — | +11.5% |
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)
Imports in 1988 were JPY 1,964,070,623,000; in 2025, JPY 5,424,463,771,000, about 2.8 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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