Business Relations
Economic relations between Estonia and Japan are good and progressing stably. Additional new opportunities have appeared by virtue of the EU and Japan’s Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which entered into force on 1 February 2019.
Thanks to the Estonian government’s successful co-operation with Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi, a unique project will come to life from 2011-2013. A network of electric car charging stations than covers the entire country (250 stations in total) will be established and 509 Mitsubishi MieV electric cars will arrive in Estonia, which are to be used by municipal social workers. In addition, the Estonian government will start a support program that will make it cheaper for people to buy electric cars.
In 2020, Estonia exported 94.5 million euros worth of goods to Japan, which reveals a 18.5% growth in comparison to 2019. Imports from Japan were valued at 39 million euros. Exported services inclined by 50% to 28.4 million euros. Services imported from Japan came to around 7.6 million euros. In the recent years, trade balance with Japan has been positive and export volumes stable. This led Japan to hold 26th place for exports and 30th place for imports.
Trade between Estonia and Japan in 2007 – 2020 (not including services; in millions of EUR)
| Year | Export | Import |
| 2007 | 42.4 | 89.4 |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 39.4 | 51.0 |
| 2009 | 39.4 | 17.4 |
| 2010 | 47.7 | 27.1 |
| 2011 | 60.9 | 24.9 |
| 2012 | 66.1 | 36.8 |
| 2013 | 59.5 | 23.8 |
| 2014 | 59.8 | 23.1 |
| 2015 | 64.2 | 19.6 |
| 2016 | 72.7 | 21.5 |
| 2017 | 70.3 | 26.6 |
| 2018 | 71.0 | 43.7 |
| 2019 | 79.7 | 46.4 |
| 2020 | 94.5 | 39 |
Exports https://valiskaubandus.stat.ee/profile/partner/jp?locale=en#exports
Imports https://valiskaubandus.stat.ee/profile/partner/jp?locale=en#imports
In 2020, the majority of export to Japan was wood and wood products, machines and other industrial products. Imports were mostly cars and motorcycles, machinery and mechanical appliances, metal and metal products.
According to Bank of Estonia’s data as of December 31, 2020, direct investments from Japan to Estonia totaled to 149.6 million euros during the year. The main sectors were wholesale and retail business, as well as real estate, financial and insurance-related institutions.