TOKYO, February 18. /TASS/. Trade turnover between Russia and Japan grew by 14.65% in January 2026 year-on-year to 106.1 bln yen (around $692 mln at the current exchange rate), according to TASS’ calculations based on data released by the Japanese finance ministry.
Imports from Russia added 6% in the reporting period, while exports from Japan to Russia soared by 53.4% year-on-year.
Import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) remained the main item of Japan’s imports from Russia in January as it accounted for 60.9% of all imports from Russia to Japan. Supplies of cars and components, in turn, remained the key source of Japanese exports to Russia, accounting for 60.4% of the total in January.
Japan increased its coal imports from Russia by 258.6% last month year-on-year. At the same time, Russian LNG supplies edged up by 0.1%. The share of Russian LNG in Japan's total LNG imports amounted to 9.18%, exceeding US supplies, which accounted for around 6.29%, according to TASS calculations. That said, Japan, as in previous months, did not buy Russian oil, for which a price ceiling was imposed jointly with the G7 countries, with the exception of supplies from Sakhalin-2, which are linked to LNG supplies from this project.
Meanwhile imports from Russia lost 33.3% for iron and steel, 20.8% for non-ferrous metals, and 70% for vegetables. Purchases of Russian fish and seafood, which account for 14.1% of all imports from Russia, decreased by 2.6%. At the same time, Japan purchased 171.6% more grain, though this category, like vegetables, accounts for an insignificant share of all imports from Russia.
Japan’s passenger car shipments to Russia grew by 45.1% in January year-on-year. Meanwhile shipments of spare parts and components to Russia decreased by 20.5%.
Japanese medical supplies to Russia rose by 42.5%, plastics deliveries climbed by 51.8%, while supplies of processed rubber soared by 82.5%. Meanwhile paper deliveries fell by 55.6%, while supplies of generators slipped by 6.8%. Food exports to Russia lost 39.9% in value terms.