News
In December 2011, exports from Japan to China plunged 14.4% from a year earlier to 1,067,837 tons, suffering a year-on-year decline for two months in a row, according to a recent report on tonnage-based container throughput between the economies. On the other hand, imports to Japan from China were steady, going up 4.6% to 1,946,112 tons. In 2011, as a result, exports decreased 5% to 12,744,634 tons, making an unfavorable turn from the previous calendar year, when they enjoyed a positive growth of 5.2%. In contrast, imports were brisk, improving 10% to 23,029,579 tons and accomplishing a double-digit rise for two straight years.
The Japan Maritime Center （JMC）, which complied the report from trade statistics, said that exports from Japan to China were impacted by shipping lines that suspended and decreased calls at Japanese ports in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011.
They began to call Japanese ports in late April, and the number of calls was even greater than a year earlier for the three consecutive months from July to September. However, the number declined year on year again from October due to the slowdown in the Chinese economy, the appreciation of the Japanese yen and other negative factors.
Meanwhile, imports to Japan from China were robust for several reasons, including an increase in communication devices thanks to the rise in demand for smartphones; improvements in garments and foodstuffs; growth in demand for rehabilitations from the devastating earthquake; and significant increases in electric fans, power generators and batteries resulting from the nationwide power-saving efforts to deal with the shortage of electricity.
