In the period between January and September 2023, Japanese imports of garments rose 4.08 percent year on year to reach US $16.66 billion.
In the month of September alone, clothing imports leaped 17.4 percent to $2.63 billion over the same month of the previous year.
But while the value of imports grew in double digits in September, volume-wise wise they declined by 3.95 percent from a year ago month.
China which is by far the biggest garment exporter to Japan saw its exports dropping 3.38 percent year over year to $8.70 billion in the first nine months of the current year.
However, exports of apparel from Vietnam to Japan surged 13.28 over the comparable period of 2022 to $2.82 billion in the January to September 2023 period.
