Per the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Trade Stats Express:

U.S. Trade Facts

Japan is the United States’ fourth largest export partner. The U.S. is a large supplier of chemicals, transportation equipment, and computer and electronic products to Japan. Japan is also one of the largest U.S. foreign markets for agricultural products.

U.S. exports to Japan were $80.317 billion in 2022, a 7.7% increase from 2021. Chemicals, oil and gas, computers and electronic products, agricultural products, processed foods, and transportation equipment and made up the top imports in 2022. U.S. imports from Japan to the United States were $148.33 billion in 2022, representing a 9.9% increase from 2021. Transportation equipment imports accounted for 33% of the total. Non-electrical machinery, chemicals, computer and electronic products, and other electrical equipment made up the other top import categories.

California Trade Facts

California continues to be a top exporting state to Japan, accounting for more than 14.4% of total U.S. exports. Japan has remained California’s fourth largest export market since 2010, after Mexico, Canada and China. California exports to Japan, the world’s third largest economy, totaled $11.607 billion in 2022, representing a 1.6% decrease from 2021. Computers and electronic products accounted for 18% of total exports. Other top exports included non-electrical machinery, chemicals, processed foods, and transportation equipment. California is in the top two exporting states for products being sent to Japan.

Imports into California from Japan were $29.367 billion in 2022, representing a 31.21% increase from 2021. Transportation equipment accounted for more than 34% of total imports. California is currently the top importing state in the United States for products from Japan.

Foreign Direct Investment

According to the most recent figures, U.S. direct investment to Japan totaled $118.74 billion in 2021, largely in financial, software and internet services (Bureau of Economic Analysis). Foreign direct investment (FDI) from Japan into the United States was $721 billion in 2021. In 2020, Japan was the largest source of FDI in the United States that year. In 2019, Japanese FDI in the United States supported 973,800 jobs and contributed $12.9 billion to research and development, as well as another $82.3 billion to expanding U.S. exports. The top industry sectors for Japanese FDI are: auto components, industrial equipment, plastics, automotive OEM, software and information technology services, and metals. (Select USA)

In California, Japan is the largest source of FDI through foreign-owned enterprises (FOEs). Japanese FOEs in California in 2021 provided 105,053 jobs through 3,523 firms amounting to $10.978 billion in wages. The top jobs by sector are: financial activities, professional/business services, retail trade, wholesale trade, and manufacturing. (World Trade Center Los Angeles FDI Report).

For more information on Japan visit the CalChamber’s Japan Trading Partner Portal.