Trade relations between Russia and Japan in the aftermath of Special Military Operation: Case Study based on statistics of 2024–2025

East Asia: Facts and Analytics, 2026/2

DOI: 10.24412/2686-7702-2026-2-19-38
URL: PDF

Author 1

Khilchevskaya Anna R.
Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia
ORCID: 0009-0006-2259-1720
E-mail: 1042250089@rudn.ru

Author 2

Oshchepkov Eugene R.
Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia
ORCID: 0009-0002-4258-5281
E-mail: 1042250083@rudn.ru

Abstract

The article examines the trade and economic relations between Russia and Japan, presenting a historical overview of the dynamics of export-import activity between the two countries in the 21st century, as well as an analysis of the current conditions governing bilateral trade within the framework of international anti-Russian sanctions following the outbreak of the Special Military Operation in February 2022. The findings demonstrate that Russia–Japan trade exchange has reached its lowest recorded levels to date, comparable to the economic indicators of the early 2000s. The presence of Japanese companies on the territory of Russia has been declining annually since 2022: the firms surveyed by JETRO report significant difficulties in conducting business in Russia, citing challenges related to the importation of Japanese goods, cross-border money transfers, the development of parallel imports, and price and quality competition from Chinese-manufactured products. The sanctions have affected a broad range of technical components and materials essential to the operations of both Russian and Japanese enterprises. As a result of these policies, the Russia–Japan trade and economic relationship is currently experiencing stagnation. However, both states have reached a stage at which all critical aspects of bilateral trade are already subject to mutual restrictive measures, leaving the relationship in a state of uncertainty and suspension.

Keywords

Russia-Japan relations, trade and economy, imports and exports, statistical analysis, foreign economic activity, sanctions policy of Japan

Support

Acknowledgments

For citation

Khilchevskaya A.R., Oshchepkov E.R. (2026). Rossiysko-yaponskiye torgovyye otnosheniya posle nachala SVO: Case Study na primere statistiki za 2024–2025 gg. [Trade relations between Russia and Japan in the aftermath of Special Military Operation: Case Study based on statistics of 2024–2025]. Vostochnaya Aziya: fakty i analitika [East Asia: Facts and Analytics], 8 (2): 19–38. (In Russian). DOI 10.24412/2686-7702-2026-2-19-38

References

Babayev K.V., Luzyanin S.G. (2024). Povorot na Vostok: vostochnoaziatskiy vektor Rossii (2014−2024) [Pivot to the East: Russia’s East Asian Vector (2014–2024)]. Ed. by S.A. Karaganov; In-t. Kitaya i sovr. Azii RAN [Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences]. Moscow: Russian Academy of Sciences. 256 p. (In Russian). ISBN 978-5-907645-01-1

Belov A.V. (2016). Poltora veka rossiysko-yaponskoy torgovli: kak preodolet’ «Effekt kolei»? [A century and a half of Russian-Japanese trade: how to overcome the “Path Dependence Effect”?]. Yezhegodnik Yaponiya [The Yearbook Japan], 45: 105–130. (In Russian).

Chizhevskaya M.P. (2024). Sanktsii Yaponii i ES protiv rossiyskogo energeticheskogo sektora v usloviyakh krizisa 2022 g. [The sanctions of Japan and the EU against Russian energy sector during the 2022 crisis]. Mirovaya ekonomika i mezhdunarodnyye otnosheniya [World Economy and International Relations], 1: 85–94. (In Russian). DOI 10.20542/0131-2227-2024-68-1-85-94

Dobrinskaya O.A. (2021). Teoreticheskiye podkhody k mezhdunarodnym otnosheniyam v Yaponii [Theoretical approaches to international relations in Japan]. Yaponskiye issledovaniya [Japanese Studies in Russia], 2: 92–109. (In Russian). DOI 10.24412/2500-2872-2021-2-92-109

Lukin A.L., Voloshchak V.I., Sevastyanov S.V. (2024). Vzaimodeistviye rossiyskogo Dal’nego Vostoka s Yaponiyey i Yuzhnoy Koreyey v usloviyakh sanktsionnykh ogranicheniy [Interaction of the Russian Far East with Japan and South Korea under sanctions]. Yaponskiye issledovaniya [Japanese Studies in Russia], 4: 87–105. (In Russian). DOI 10.55105/2500-2872-2024-4-87-105

Nelidov V.V. (2023). Rossiiskoye napravleniye vneshney politiki Yaponii v 2023 g.: faktory formirovaniya i real’noye napolneniye [Russian direction of Japan’s foreign policy: contents and forming factors]. Vostochnaya Aziya: fakty i analitika [East Asia: Facts and Analytics], 4: 91–102. (In Russian). DOI 10.24412/2686-7702-2023-4-91-102

Orusova O.V. (2023). Rossiysko-yaponskiye ekonomicheskiye otnosheniya v usloviyakh sanktsiy [Russian-Japanese economic relations under sanctions]. Mirovaya ekonomika i mirovyye finansy [World Economy and World Finance], 5: 40–46. (In Russian). DOI 10.24412/2949-6454-2024-0420

Streltsov D.V. (2016). Rossiysko-yaponskiye torgovo-ekonomicheskiye otnosheniya: yest’ li novaya tochka opory? [Russian-Japanese trade and economic relations: is there a new fulcrum?]. Vestnik MGIMO-Universiteta [The MGIMO Review of International Relations], 1 (46): 93–105. (In Russian). DOI 10.24833/2071-8160-2016-1-46-93-105

Timofeyev I.N., Rozhdestvenskaya O.S., Sokolova T.S., Chupriyanova P.I. (2024). Politika sanktsiy: ponyatiye, instituty, praktika: uchebno-metodicheskiye materialy No. 11 [Sanctions policy: concept, institutions, practice: teaching and methodological materials No. 11]. Ed. by I.N. Timofeyev, S.M. Gavrilova, P.I. Chupriyanova, D.O. Rastegayev. Moscow: Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). 96 p. (In Russian). ISBN 978-5-6051643-0-2

Dates

Received Date: Apr 3, 2026
Accepted Date: Apr 28, 2026
Publication Date: Jul 1, 2026

International License: CC BY 4.0