Русский
The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has released 2024 tourism data, showing that almost 100,000 Russian tourists visited Japan last year, 2.3 times the figure for 2023. The JNTO stated that “99,300 people travelled from Russia to Japan in 2024, 136.6% more than the year before. In 2023 tourist flows from Russia stood at 41,960. In December 2024, 5,900 Russians visited Japan, or 1.8 times as many (3,250) as in the same period the year before.”
The data is partially surprising as Japan has joined sanctions against Russia and been vocal about Russian involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
However, as is now often proving to be the case, Asian pragmatism is proving stronger than its politics, as Japan’s bilateral trade with Russia also increased during 2024 following a politically driven decline.
Trade relations between Japan and Russia have experienced notable fluctuations in recent years. Trade turnover was US$19.87 billion in 2021, and has declined US$19.96 billion in 2022, and US$9.6 billion in 2023, mainly due to Japanese sanctions, especially within the automotive and banking services sectors. However, 2024 trade in non-sanctioned products actually increased, with Japan’s exports to Russia increasing by 98.4% during the year, while imports increased by 2.98%.
The increase in exports was primarily due to an increase in air pumps, rubber-working machinery, and refined petroleum products. Japanese cars and auto components remain an important part of bilateral trade although sanctions have diminished sales of new vehicles, with Russia turning instead to Chinese manufacturers. Russian exports to Japan include mainly energy products as well as seafood items, such as frozen fish and scallops.
The overall trade picture is complex with Japan politically influenced by the United States while ideally needing cheap Russian energy supplies to maintain its global manufacturing competitiveness.
With calls for anti-Russian sanctions to be dropped should incoming President Trump be able to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, countries in East Asia may be among the first to resume normal trade relations.
Our 2025 Guide To East Asia will be published in the coming days and includes trade and geopolitical intelligence concerning Russia and Japan as well as China, North & South Korea, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. To ensure you receive a complimentary copy, please subscribe to Russia’s Pivot To Asia here.
Further Reading
Russia – Japan Total Trade Down, But Russian Exports To Japan Up
