South Korea exports to Japan

일본 · latest month: October 2026

Exports, October 2026

$3.19B

-0.4% vs previous month

vs same month a year earlier

+44.0%

export value

Exports, last 12 months

$32.55B

+13.5% vs 12 months before

Rank among destinations

of 239, last 12 months

Imports, last 12 months

$55.26B

balance -$22.71B

In October 2026, South Korea exported $3.19 billion of goods to Japan, down 0.4% from September 2026 and up 44.0% from October 2025.

Over the 12 months to October 2026, exports of goods to Japan totalled $32.55 billion, up 13.5% from the 12 months before ($28.67 billion).

Japan ranked 6th of 239 destinations for Korean goods over the 12 months to October 2026, the same position as in the 12 months before.

The largest chapter was mineral fuels, oils and their products (HS 27), with $6.29 billion or 19.3% of exports to Japan.

Imports from Japan in October 2026 were $4.99 billion (up 29.5% from October 2025), leaving a deficit of $1.79 billion for the month.

Last 24 months

Monthly exportsExport value in US dollars (FOB).

Monthly importsImport value in US dollars (CIF).

What South Korea exports to Japan: chapters

Export value by HS chapter over the 12 months to October 2026; the largest 25 of 96.

Code	Product	Exports, 12 months	Share	vs 12 months before	October 2026
27	Mineral fuels, oils and their products	$6.29B	19.3%	+4.7%	$660.4M
85	Electrical machinery and electronics	$5.27B	16.2%	+46.0%	$553.3M
84	Machinery, boilers and computers	$3.27B	10.1%	+4.8%	$322.4M
72	Iron and steel	$2.49B	7.7%	-5.1%	$241.4M
39	Plastics and articles thereof	$1.94B	6.0%	+17.9%	$182.7M
71	Pearls, precious stones and precious metals	$1.77B	5.4%	+56.5%	$202.0M
29	Organic chemicals	$1.40B	4.3%	+30.6%	$115.8M
33	Essential oils, perfumery and cosmetics	$1.17B	3.6%	+7.1%	$104.8M
90	Optical, measuring and medical instruments	$965.6M	3.0%	+7.5%	$88.4M
28	Inorganic chemicals	$802.2M	2.5%	+50.1%	$74.3M
73	Articles of iron or steel	$793.3M	2.4%	-5.4%	$73.9M
30	Pharmaceutical products	$505.1M	1.6%	+25.6%	$41.1M
87	Vehicles, parts and accessories	$476.1M	1.5%	+9.0%	$42.0M
03	Fish, crustaceans and other seafood	$371.7M	1.1%	+4.0%	$29.6M
38	Miscellaneous chemical products	$355.8M	1.1%	+23.7%	$39.0M
74	Copper and articles thereof	$265.0M	0.8%	+31.8%	$33.5M
40	Rubber and articles thereof	$259.8M	0.8%	+1.0%	$24.0M
76	Aluminium and articles thereof	$256.8M	0.8%	-12.9%	$19.4M
24	Tobacco and tobacco substitutes	$239.5M	0.7%	-28.8%	$15.6M
88	Aircraft and spacecraft	$238.6M	0.7%	+60.6%	$14.4M
20	Preparations of vegetables, fruit or nuts	$193.2M	0.6%	+5.6%	$14.6M
26	Ores, slag and ash	$191.9M	0.6%	+36.5%	$19.2M
21	Miscellaneous edible preparations	$178.1M	0.5%	-8.1%	$13.1M
12	Oil seeds, grains, seeds and medicinal plants	$153.1M	0.5%	-21.0%	$19.1M
19	Preparations of cereals, flour or milk, and bakery products	$153.1M	0.5%	+1.5%	$15.0M

Largest 4-digit headings

The 30 largest of 1038 headings exported to Japan in the same 12 months.

Code	Product	Exports, 12 months	Share	vs 12 months before	October 2026
2710	Refined petroleum oils	$5.93B	18.2%	+5.0%	$605.9M
8542	Electronic integrated circuits (semiconductor chips)	$2.35B	7.2%	+167.5%	$278.0M
7106	Silver	$1.39B	4.3%	+68.4%	$112.3M
3304	Beauty, make-up and skin care preparations	$952.2M	2.9%	+7.3%	$86.5M
8486	Machines for making semiconductors and flat panel displays	$836.7M	2.6%	+27.2%	$106.7M
8523	Solid-state storage devices, discs and other recording media	$686.1M	2.1%	+29.5%	$68.4M
7208	Flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel, hot-rolled	$643.6M	2.0%	-11.4%	$57.9M
7210	Flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel, coated or plated	$563.6M	1.7%	-25.2%	$53.6M
8708	Parts and accessories of motor vehicles	$413.8M	1.3%	+8.8%	$37.5M
3920	Plates, sheets and film of plastics, not reinforced	$355.9M	1.1%	+42.9%	$44.1M
8507	Rechargeable batteries (electric accumulators)	$340.4M	1.0%	-18.3%	$28.3M
3002	Blood products, vaccines and immunological products	$336.1M	1.0%	+47.1%	$24.7M
7209	Flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel, cold-rolled	$324.2M	1.0%	-10.7%	$38.5M
2901	Acyclic hydrocarbons	$301.7M	0.9%	+61.2%	$10.5M
3907	Polyethers, epoxide resins and polyesters, in primary forms	$271.6M	0.8%	+10.8%	$21.4M
7219	Flat-rolled products of stainless steel	$245.4M	0.8%	+31.0%	$22.2M
3902	Polymers of propylene, in primary forms	$241.3M	0.7%	+17.9%	$21.7M
2404	Heated tobacco, e-cigarette and other nicotine products	$225.7M	0.7%	-16.3%	$13.0M
8517	Telephones, smartphones and network equipment	$224.9M	0.7%	+13.9%	$26.5M
9018	Medical, surgical and dental instruments	$224.7M	0.7%	+7.7%	$22.8M
8409	Parts for internal combustion engines	$221.9M	0.7%	+6.4%	$19.0M
8431	Parts for cranes, excavators and other heavy machinery	$220.8M	0.7%	-5.6%	$20.7M
7112	Precious metal waste and scrap	$219.9M	0.7%	+135.2%	$78.7M
8421	Centrifuges and filtering or purifying machinery	$212.9M	0.7%	-6.8%	$17.6M
2713	Petroleum coke, bitumen and other petroleum residues	$203.6M	0.6%	+8.9%	$36.3M
8541	Semiconductor devices, including solar cells and LEDs	$192.6M	0.6%	-14.5%	$9.2M
8414	Air or vacuum pumps, compressors and fans	$181.4M	0.6%	+1.6%	$22.1M
3901	Polymers of ethylene, in primary forms	$179.2M	0.6%	+44.3%	$18.8M
7326	Other articles of iron or steel	$172.4M	0.5%	-3.8%	$16.1M
7225	Flat-rolled products of other alloy steel	$160.0M	0.5%	+151.1%	$16.9M

A chapter is linked when exports to Japan reached $1,000,000 over 24 months, a heading when they reached $5,000,000. "Share" is the share of all exports to Japan.

Featured industry: cosmetics exports to Japan, by 6-digit product.

Monthly figures

Month	Exports	vs year earlier	Export weight	Export $/kg	Imports	Import weight
October 2026	$3.19B	+44.0%	1,192,353 t	$2.68	$4.99B	1,278,301 t
September 2026	$3.21B	+25.3%	1,103,348 t	$2.91	$5.23B	1,149,151 t
August 2026	$2.69B	+13.0%	1,057,871 t	$2.54	$4.76B	1,110,870 t
July 2026	$2.75B	+10.8%	1,121,138 t	$2.45	$4.91B	1,334,668 t
June 2026	$2.79B	+14.6%	1,027,499 t	$2.72	$4.99B	1,255,044 t
May 2026	$2.63B	+11.0%	1,067,756 t	$2.46	$4.29B	1,121,313 t
April 2026	$2.98B	+29.3%	1,267,548 t	$2.35	$4.50B	937,075 t
March 2026	$2.92B	+35.1%	1,336,958 t	$2.18	$5.11B	1,295,961 t
February 2026	$2.39B	+5.4%	1,385,615 t	$1.72	$3.98B	1,152,705 t
January 2026	$2.24B	-5.0%	1,202,906 t	$1.87	$3.90B	1,180,125 t
December 2025	$2.46B	-7.1%	1,374,377 t	$1.79	$4.67B	1,357,948 t
November 2025	$2.31B	-7.5%	1,218,928 t	$1.89	$3.93B	1,141,878 t
October 2025	$2.22B	-8.4%	1,257,249 t	$1.76	$3.85B	1,095,811 t
September 2025	$2.56B	+3.3%	1,259,952 t	$2.03	$4.27B	1,119,554 t
August 2025	$2.38B	-4.9%	1,458,296 t	$1.63	$3.63B	1,131,428 t
July 2025	$2.48B	-4.4%	1,451,298 t	$1.71	$4.10B	1,111,118 t
June 2025	$2.44B	+2.4%	1,349,663 t	$1.81	$4.05B	1,141,196 t
May 2025	$2.37B	-9.0%	1,288,157 t	$1.84	$3.56B	1,055,413 t
April 2025	$2.30B	-5.5%	1,302,125 t	$1.77	$4.48B	1,190,887 t
March 2025	$2.16B	+1.5%	1,059,611 t	$2.04	$4.58B	1,122,267 t
February 2025	$2.26B	-4.6%	1,326,101 t	$1.71	$4.19B	1,155,262 t
January 2025	$2.36B	-7.0%	1,525,626 t	$1.55	$3.59B	1,119,177 t
December 2024	$2.64B	+6.3%	1,730,914 t	$1.53	$4.48B	1,369,027 t
November 2024	$2.49B	-2.0%	1,492,459 t	$1.67	$3.99B	1,276,650 t

Exports FOB, imports CIF, US dollars. Weight is net weight. "vs year earlier" compares export value with the same month one year before and is left blank when that month was under $10,000. Source: Korea Customs Service, via data.go.kr.