A Flexible, Expansive Market and Economy
Ranked 5th Worldwide in Trade Volume: One of the World’s Largest Markets and Economies
Japan ranks 5th worldwide in trade volume. Surrounded by the sea, the nation has achieved economic growth through proactive importing and exporting. With a stable domestic economy and market underpinned by well-developed infrastructure, Japan is ideally placed to accelerate your business.
Trade Volume Ranking 2023 (Unit: 100 million US dollars)
Source: Created by JETRO based on JETRO "JETRO Global Trade Investment Report 2024"
The Internationally Well-regarded Japanese Market as Confidence Booster
In addition to its stable socio-political landscape, Japan’s other great appeal for foreign-capital firms is the sheer size of its domestic market. In this huge, stable market—underpinned by one of the world’s largest economies and cited by about 50% of foreign-capital firms as the thing that attracted them to Japan—your business could truly blossom.
Source: JETRO "2023 Survey on the Business Operations of Foreign-affiliated Companies in Japan"
Japan as Your Gateway to the Asia-Pacific and the World
Japan’s free trade agreements help eliminate or reduce tariffs, leading to easier access to global markets and economies. This is a key advantage for ambitious companies. A presence in Japan could be your stepping-stone to global expansion.
Comparison of FTA Coverage Rates (Total trade, 2022)
(A = In effect, B = Under negotiation, C = Others) (Unit：Trillion US dollars)
*The status of enforcement, signature, and negotiation is as of the end of March 2024. Quoted from JETRO's "World FTA Database."
*The figures for "including under negotiation" also include those for concluded negotiations.
*If both multilateral and bilateral FTAs are progressing with the same country, the trade amount is counted in order of progress (in effect → signed → under negotiation → others).
*Due to rounding to the nearest first decimal place, the total may not necessarily add up to 100%.
Source: Created by JETRO based on Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry "White Paper on International Economy and Trade 2024"
Still the World’s 4th Largest Economy
A long-standing global leader, Japan remains the world’s 4th-largest economy with a highly developed market. Success here could prime your business for expansion throughout the Asian region and beyond.
GDP Ranking (2023) (Unit: Trillion US dollars)
Source: Created by JETRO based on ©World Bank, "World Development Indicators Database" Creative Commons License (Attribution 4.0 International)
We provide a flowchart outlining the basic steps involved in establishing a base in Japan. You can also find a detailed explanation of each step, cost estimation, an overview of the laws, regulations and procedures related to setting up business, and more.
The pamphlet “Laws & Regulations” is available in PDF, and outlines basic information about laws, regulations and procedures related to setting up a business in Japan.
PDF “Reasons to Choose Japan”
The “Reasons to Choose Japan” is also available in PDF.
Contact Us
Investing in and collaborating with Japan
We will do our very best to support your business expansion into and within Japan as well as business collaboration with Japanese companies. Please feel free to contact us via the form below for any inquiries.
Inquiry FormJETRO Worldwide
Our network covers over 50 countries worldwide. You can contact us at one of our local offices near you for consultation.
Worldwide Offices
