The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 10th, the Japanese government released on the 9th of 2024 version of the "white paper" shows that after the investigation of Japan's imports of goods source found that 1,406 categories of more than half of the imports from China, the United States of America 2.5 times. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun analyzed that this reflects the high dependence of Japan's supply chain on China.
It is reported that Japan's trade statistics for 2022 are based on about 4,300 commodities. The white paper uses the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI for short) for more detailed analysis, which shows the degree of concentration of Japan's trade with partner countries. If the HHI is above 50, it means that imports of the commodity are "highly dependent" on a single source. In terms of the 4,300 commodities covered by the report, nearly 40% of Japan's commodities are highly dependent on a single source of imports, and most of those imports come from China.
Specific data show that Japan's "high dependence" on China's imports mainly include notebook computers, air conditioners, organic chemicals and rare earth metals. Another data show that Japan's imports of home appliances more than 90% from China. In addition, China is also Japan's fertilizer production raw material phosphorus main supplier.
The data also show that a total of 252 kinds of Japanese imports and 151 kinds of goods "highly dependent" on the United States and South Korea, the two countries ranked in Japan's dependence on imports of goods in the second and third place, but with a large gap in the first place in China. Other G7 members are less dependent on a single source of imports than Japan. The United States is "highly dependent" on a single import source for 20 percent of its imports, compared to 10 percent in Germany. Specific data show that the United States a total of 567 kinds of goods imports "highly dependent" on China, while Germany a total of 221 kinds of goods imports "highly dependent" on China.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun said that the Japanese government has designated important minerals, semiconductors, fertilizers, and other strategic materials with a high degree of dependence as "Specific Important Materials" under the Economic Security Promotion Act. With the goal of achieving a stable supply, to provide support for investment in production equipment and reserves. Japan also plans to work with the U.S. and Europe to set standards, taking into account stability of supply, through subsidies and government procurement.
The White Paper on Trade and Commerce also encourages Japanese companies to expand overseas, stating that countries in the "Global South" such as India are maintaining high growth rates and that Japanese companies have a strong desire to expand their operations there.
