The Japanese economy seems unable to return to a sustainable growth path. In Q4, GDP fell 1.4% over the previous quarter in seasonally adjusted annualized terms (SAAR), which contrasted Q3’s 1.3% rise.

In 2015, Japan’s imports & exports volume was USD 1273.64 billion, down 15.3% by year according to Japan's customs data. The exports volume was USD 625.04 billion, down 9.5% and imports volume was USD 648.6 billion, down 20.2%. The trade deficit was USD 23.56 billion, down 80.7%.

In December, Japan’s imports & exports value was USD 103.06 billion, down 14.9% by year. Exports value was USD 52.11 billion, down 9.8% and imports value was USD 1.15 billion, down 120.7%.

Imports & exports value of 2015 between Australia and China was USD 269.86 billion, down 12.2%. Japan’s exports value was USD 109.29 billion, down 13.6%. It accounted for 17.5% of Japan’s total exports, down 0.8%. Japan’s imports from China reached USD 160.57 billion, down 11.3%. It accounted for 24.8% of total imports, up 2.5%.

Japan’s trade surplus with China was USD 51.28 billion from January to December, down 6%.

Up to December, China has become the biggest partner for Japan and the second largest market for Japan’s exports.