Between 2000 and 2008, EU27 exports of goods to Japan fell in value, from 45 bn euro to 42 bn, while EU27 imports from Japan decreased by nearly a fifth, from 92 bn to 75 bn. As a result, the EU27 deficit in trade with Japan was reduced from 47 bn in 2000 to 32 bn in 2008. The share of Japan in the EU27's total external trade in goods has fallen significantly between 2000 and 2008. In 2008, Japan accounted for 3% of EU27 exports and 5% of EU27 imports, and was the EU27's sixth most important trading partner.

On the occasion of the European Union - Japan summit, which will take place on Monday 4 May 2009 in Prague, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, issues data on trade in goods and services and FDI flows between the EU and Japan.

Germany, Netherlands and United Kingdom largest EU traders with Japan

Among the EU27 Member States, Germany (12.8 bn euro or 30% of the total) was by far the largest exporter to Japan in 2008, followed by France (5.6 bn or 13%), the United Kingdom (4.6 bn or 11%) and Italy (4.3 bn or 10%). Germany (17.4 bn or 23%) was also the largest importer, followed by the Netherlands (11.5 bn or 15%), the United Kingdom (9.6 bn or 13%) and Belgium (8.4 bn or 11%).

Most Member States recorded trade deficits with Japan in 2008. The largest were observed in the Netherlands (-8.5 bn), Belgium (-6.2 bn), the United Kingdom (-4.9 bn), Germany (-4.6 bn) and Spain (-2.4 bn). The only significant surpluses were registered in Denmark (+1.1 bn), Ireland (+0.9 bn) and Finland (+0.5 bn).

A third of EU27 exports to Japan in 2008 were machinery and vehicles, a quarter were other manufactured articles and a fifth were chemicals, while machinery and vehicles accounted for nearly three quarters of imports and other manufactured articles for almost a fifth. At the detailed level, the main EU27 exports to Japan were motor cars and parts, medicine and pork, while the main imports were motor cars and parts, printers and digital cameras.

In 2007, the EU27 exported 19.4 bn euro of services to Japan, while imports of services from Japan amounted to 13.8 bn, meaning that the EU27 had a surplus of 5.6 bn in trade in services with Japan. This surplus was mainly due to financial services (+2.9 bn), as well as travel (+1.3 bn) and computer and information services (+0.9 bn). Japan accounted for around 3.5% of total extra-EU27 trade in services.

Japan net investor in EU27 in 2007

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows between the EU27 and Japan show large variations, with EU27 investment in Japan of 12.3 bn in 2005, disinvestment of 0.1 bn in 2006 and investment of 12.9 bn in 2007. On the other hand, Japan recorded disinvestment of 4.2 bn in the EU27 in 2005, then invested 15.7 bn in 2006 and 18.2 bn in 2007.