Data from the Japanese Customs shows that in 2018 Japan imported 669.77 million pairs of shoes with a total value of 5.25 billion dollars. This performance represents growth of 2.8% in quantity and 3.9% in value for the imports of the 4th largest buyer of footwear.

China continues to be the undisputed leader in the market import top with a 50% share, despite having lost share in recent years. In 2018, imports from China, despite a small increase of 1% in quantity, felt by 1%. Imports from Vietnam, which ranks second in the top 5 of the main markets of Japanese imports, grew by 15.6% in value and 20.3% in quantity, accounting for the entry in Japan of 71.63 million pairs of shoes with a value of 1.07 billion US dollars.

Japan primarily imports textile footwear (56% of the total), with imports in this category growing by 7.0% in quantity and 7.8% in value in 2018. Plastic footwear accounts for approximately 28% of imports, having suffered in 2018 a decline of 6.7% in quantity and 2.7% in value.

According to the World Footwear Yearbook (AVAILABLE HERE), in 2017, Japan was the 6th largest importer of footwear, buying 651 million pairs of shoes from abroad (5,2% share in total world imports), and ranked as the 4th consumer with 704 million pairs (3,3% share in global consumption).