Japan's clothing imports rise 5% in FY25, 15% in March

The country’s imports of textile yarn and fabric increased by 2.7 per cent to 1,174,598 million yen in the recently concluded fiscal, representing 1.0 per cent of total imports.

In March 2025, imports of clothing and accessories posted impressive growth of 15.5 per cent to reach 335,174 million yen (approximately $2.354 billion), accounting for 3.6 per cent of the nation's total imports of 9,303,763 million yen. Imports of textile yarn and fabric rose by 5.8 per cent to 94,735 million yen during the same month.

Japan's exports of textile yarn and fabric grew by 6.0 per cent during fiscal 2024–25, reaching 850,139 million yen. However, exports of textile machinery declined by 12.6 per cent to 280,408 million yen, contributing 0.3 per cent to total exports. In March 2025, exports of textile yarn and fabric inched up by 1.2 per cent to 75,419 million yen, while textile machinery exports jumped by 22.6 per cent to 29,366 million yen.

During the calendar year 2024, Japan’s imports of clothing and accessories increased by 3.5 per cent to 3,674,140 million yen (approximately $23.619 billion). However, imports of textile yarn and fabric declined by 0.4 per cent to 1,157,919 million yen. In the same period, exports of textile yarn and fabric rose by 6.9 per cent to 839,583 million yen, while textile machinery exports fell by 17.7 per cent to 270,557 million yen.

For fiscal 2023–24 (April–March), Japan’s imports of clothing and accessories totalled 3,564,850 million yen (approximately $23.107 billion), marking a 1.7 per cent decline. Imports of textile yarn and fabric dropped by 10.4 per cent to 1,143,805 million yen. During the same fiscal, Japan exported textile yarn and fabric worth 802,178 million yen, while textile machinery exports stood at 320,947 million yen. In fiscal 2022–23, imports of clothing and accessories amounted to 3,619,550 million yen (approximately $25.05 billion), while textile machinery exports reached 306,781 million yen.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)