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The increasingly interesting Japan

News - 21 Mar 2019

News The increasingly interesting Japan
Japan is at its boiling point and is currently the 4th biggest importer of footwear. Therefore, it is an increasingly interesting market and has been gaining international attention.

In 2018, the Japanese footwear imports increased 2.8% to 670 million pairs of shoes, worth 5.250 billion dollars (3.9% growth).
China is this still the undeniable leader at the top of market imports with a share of 50%. The relative weight of China within the Japanese market, however, has been recently decreasing. Last year, it slightly increased in volume (1%) but equally backed down in value (1%). The imports from Vietnam, however, which occupies the second place in top five main market suppliers, have increased 15.6% in value and 20.3% in volume to a total of 71.63 million pairs of shoes, worth 1.007 billion dollars.

By category, Japan imports mainly textile footwear (56% of the total). The imports in this category have increased 7% in volume and 7.8% in value, in 2018. Plastic footwear represented 28% of imports but decreased, in 2018, to 6.7% in volume and 2.7% in value.
According to World Footwear Yearbook, Japan has been conquering relative weight in the international competitive scene. In the last report regarding 2017, it went up to the 6th position, among the biggest footwear importers worldwide. It already ascended to the 4th place on that list and is also in the 4th position in terms of consumption.