IBARAKI, JAPAN – JUNE 17: Technicians at work in the clean room of Fab Equipment at a semiconductor company, Renesas Technology Corp. on June 17, 2004 in Ibaraki, Japan. Renesas is the first company in the world to manufacture semiconductor products from 300mm wafers. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)
Koichi Kamoshida | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
In September, Japanese exports increased 16.7% from a year earlier, significantly exceeding market expectations. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast export growth of 20.1%.
This is the second consecutive month that shipments from Japan have recorded a slowdown, after reaching a nearly four-year high in July.
Growth was supported by continued strong semiconductor exports, with shipments up 49.4% year-on-year in value terms.
Machinery exports also supported growth, with shipments of semiconductor-related machinery increasing 43.9% and exports of power generation machinery increasing 22.6%.
In terms of destinations, shipments to mainland China – Japan’s largest trading partner – increased 8.6%, while exports to the United States climbed 22.9%.
Exports were the main driver of Japan’s growth in the first two quarters of 2026, helping the world’s fourth-largest economy beat expectations in the first quarter and supporting growth in the second.
Japanese imports rose 18.9% in September, also missing Reuters’ expectations of 19.6%.
Tokyo’s oil imports soared 51.1% in value in September, with shipments from the United States jumping nearly 820%, while those from the Middle East rose just 1.5% as conflict in the region continues to hamper supplies.
Following the publication of the data, the benchmark Nikkei 225 is up 1.8%, while the Topix gained 1.14%.
The data comes as the Bank of Japan is scheduled to meet next week and a Reuters poll estimates that the central bank is likely to keep its benchmark rate at 1%.
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