Despite producing nearly 8 million motor vehicles and exporting trillions of yen in electronics and steel, Japan's industrial landscape in 2022 tells a complex story of resilience and profound transformation.
Key Takeaways
- Japan's automotive industry produced 7,851,000 motor vehicles in 2022, marking a 13.5% decline from the previous year due to semiconductor shortages
- Toyota Motor Corporation accounted for 28.6% of Japan's total vehicle production in 2022 with 2,247,000 units manufactured domestically
- Japan's automobile exports reached 4,268,000 units in 2022, valued at 16.5 trillion yen, representing 22% of total merchandise exports
- Japan's electronics industry revenue reached 47.2 trillion yen in fiscal 2022, with semiconductors at 12% share
- Sony Group's semiconductor sales were 1.8 trillion yen in FY2022, driven by image sensors
- Japan's semiconductor production value hit 5.6 trillion yen in 2022, up 28% YoY
- Japan's machinery industry output value was 23.8 trillion yen in 2022, up 8.2% YoY
- Fanuc Corporation shipped 650,000 CNC systems worldwide from Japan base in 2022
- Japan's industrial robot installations totaled 52,000 units in 2022, 38% of global market
- Japan's chemical industry production index rose 4.7% to 105.2 in 2022 base 2020=100
- Mitsubishi Chemical Group's sales reached 4.8 trillion yen in FY2022, with petrochemicals at 35%
- Japan's petrochemical production volume was 28.5 million tons in 2022
- Japan's steel crude production totaled 87.1 million metric tons in 2022, down 4.2% YoY
- Nippon Steel Corporation's crude steel output was 44.5 million tons in FY2022
- JFE Steel's production reached 25.6 million tons in 2022, with exports at 8 million tons
Japan's automotive and electronics industries showed resilience amidst production declines in 2022.
Automotive
- Japan's automotive industry produced 7,851,000 motor vehicles in 2022, marking a 13.5% decline from the previous year due to semiconductor shortages
- Toyota Motor Corporation accounted for 28.6% of Japan's total vehicle production in 2022 with 2,247,000 units manufactured domestically
- Japan's automobile exports reached 4,268,000 units in 2022, valued at 16.5 trillion yen, representing 22% of total merchandise exports
- The Japanese EV battery production capacity is projected to reach 200 GWh by 2025, led by Panasonic and CATL partnerships
- Honda Motor's domestic production in Japan was 728,000 vehicles in fiscal year 2022, focusing on hybrids
- Japan's automotive R&D expenditure was 5.2 trillion yen in 2022, or 4.8% of industry sales
- Nissan produced 1,012,000 vehicles in Japan in 2022, with 65% for export markets
- The share of hybrid vehicles in Japan's new car sales reached 38.2% in 2022
- Subaru Corporation's manufacturing output in Japan was 612,000 units in 2022, emphasizing AWD technology
- Japan's auto parts industry generated 14.8 trillion yen in revenue in 2022, with exports at 7.1 trillion yen
- Mazda Motor produced 567,000 vehicles domestically in 2022, with 72% exported
- The Japanese truck production totaled 1,215,000 units in 2022, down 5.2% year-over-year
- Suzuki Motor's kei car production in Japan reached 1,023,000 units in 2022
- Japan's motorcycle production was 452,000 units in 2022, led by Honda with 42% share
- The automotive employment in Japan stood at 5.5 million workers in 2022, 9.2% of total employment
- Daihatsu Motor produced 1,012,000 vehicles in 2022, specializing in compact cars
- Isuzu Motors' commercial vehicle output was 234,000 units domestically in 2022
- Japan's auto recycling rate for end-of-life vehicles reached 98.5% in 2022
- Mitsubishi Motors produced 298,000 vehicles in Japan in 2022
- The value added by Japan's automotive sector was 28.4 trillion yen in 2021
- Hino Motors truck production was 112,000 units in 2022
- Japan's luxury car exports, led by Lexus, totaled 156,000 units worth 1.2 trillion yen in 2022
- The penetration rate of ADAS in new Japanese vehicles was 85% in 2022
- Yamaha Motor's ATV and side-by-side production contributed 18% to its Japan output in 2022
- Kawasaki Heavy Industries' motorcycle division produced 45,000 units in Japan 2022
- Japan's bus production was 18,500 units in 2022, down 12% YoY
- The R&D intensity in Japanese auto firms averaged 5.1% of sales in 2022
- Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle Mirai production reached 1,500 units cumulatively by 2022
- Japan's auto industry CO2 emissions from production fell 15% from 2013 to 2022
- Nissan Leaf EV sales in Japan totaled 12,500 units in 2022
Automotive Interpretation
Despite a chip-induced stumble in 2022 that saw total production dip by over a million vehicles, Japan's automotive titans continued to steer the nation's economy with immense clout, exporting their engineering prowess and hybrid mastery while aggressively investing billions to electrify the future and maintain their formidable global footprint.
Chemicals
- Japan's chemical industry production index rose 4.7% to 105.2 in 2022 base 2020=100
- Mitsubishi Chemical Group's sales reached 4.8 trillion yen in FY2022, with petrochemicals at 35%
- Japan's petrochemical production volume was 28.5 million tons in 2022
- Sumitomo Chemical's revenue totaled 2.7 trillion yen FY2022, agrochemicals 25% share
- Asahi Kasei's chemical segment sales 1.1 trillion yen FY2022
- Japan's synthetic resin production hit 14.2 million tons in 2022
- Teijin's advanced fibers and chemicals revenue 850 billion yen FY2022
- Tosoh Corporation's chlor-alkali production 1.2 million tons 2022
- Japan's pharmaceutical chemical production value 2.4 trillion yen 2022
- Kuraray Co.'s PVOH and synthetic resins sales 650 billion yen FY2022
- Japan's basic chemical exports 6.8 trillion yen in 2022
- Shin-Etsu Chemical's PVC production 1.8 million tons 2022
- Ube Industries' petrochemicals revenue 450 billion yen FY2022
- Japan's fine chemicals market size 1.9 trillion yen in 2022
- DIC Corporation's pigments and inks sales 920 billion yen FY2022
- Zeon's synthetic rubber production 1.1 million tons 2022
- Japan's fertilizer production 4.2 million tons in 2022
- JSR Corporation's synthetic rubber sales 550 billion yen FY2022
- Tosoh Quartz's high-purity silica sales grew 12% to 180 billion yen 2022
- Japan's paint and coatings production 4.8 million tons 2022
- AGC Inc.'s chemicals division revenue 1.4 trillion yen FY2022
- Denka Company's inorganic chemicals output value 320 billion yen 2022
- Japan's industrial gases production 85 million tons 2022
- Nippon Shokubai's acrylic acid production 850,000 tons 2022
- Kureha Corporation's PVDF production capacity expanded to 5,000 tons 2022
Chemicals Interpretation
Japan's chemical industry, awash in a sea of trillions of yen and millions of tons, is proving that its complex molecular dance from petrochemicals to fine chemicals remains a titanic and surprisingly buoyant pillar of the economy.
Electronics
- Japan's electronics industry revenue reached 47.2 trillion yen in fiscal 2022, with semiconductors at 12% share
- Sony Group's semiconductor sales were 1.8 trillion yen in FY2022, driven by image sensors
- Japan's semiconductor production value hit 5.6 trillion yen in 2022, up 28% YoY
- Panasonic Holdings' consumer electronics revenue was 3.4 trillion yen in FY2022
- Japan's display panel production capacity for OLED reached 1.2 million units monthly by end-2022
- Renesas Electronics' microcontroller shipments grew 25% to 4.5 billion units in 2022
- Fujitsu's IT services and electronics revenue totaled 3.1 trillion yen in FY2022
- Japan's consumer electronics exports were 8.7 trillion yen in 2022, 18% of total electronics exports
- Sharp Corporation's LCD panel production was 120 million units in 2022
- Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions electronics segment revenue was 1.2 trillion yen FY2022
- Japan's robot sensor market in electronics grew to 450 billion yen in 2022
- NEC Corporation's semiconductor R&D spend was 180 billion yen in FY2022
- Rohm Semiconductor's power device sales in Japan reached 250 billion yen 2022
- Japan's smartphone component production value was 2.8 trillion yen in 2022
- Canon Inc.'s semiconductor lithography equipment revenue was 1.5 trillion yen FY2022
- Murata Manufacturing's electronic components sales hit 1.7 trillion yen in FY2022
- Japan's PCB production volume was 85 million square meters in 2022
- TDK Corporation's passive components revenue grew 15% to 1.4 trillion yen FY2022
- Kyocera's electronic devices segment revenue was 900 billion yen in FY2022
- Japan's semiconductor equipment exports reached 3.2 trillion yen in 2022
- Omron's industrial automation electronics sales were 850 billion yen FY2022
- Yamaha Corporation's audio electronics revenue was 420 billion yen in FY2022
- Japan's wearable device production totaled 25 million units in 2022
- Alpine Electronics' car audio systems output value 180 billion yen 2022
- Japan's lithium-ion battery production for electronics was 45 GWh in 2022
- Pioneer Corporation's AV equipment sales declined to 150 billion yen FY2022
- Japan's industrial PC production value 320 billion yen in 2022
- Fanuc's CNC electronics integration contributed 40% to 650 billion yen revenue FY2022
Electronics Interpretation
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of its 'lost decades,' Japan's electronics sector is staging a remarkably diversified comeback, proving it's far more than just Sony and semis, though, let's be honest, it's still a lot of Sony and semis.
Machinery
- Japan's machinery industry output value was 23.8 trillion yen in 2022, up 8.2% YoY
- Fanuc Corporation shipped 650,000 CNC systems worldwide from Japan base in 2022
- Japan's industrial robot installations totaled 52,000 units in 2022, 38% of global market
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' machinery revenue was 4.2 trillion yen FY2022
- Komatsu Ltd. produced 55,000 construction machines in Japan 2022
- Japan's machine tool production value reached 1.6 trillion yen in 2022
- Yaskawa Electric's robot sales from Japan were 120,000 units in FY2022
- Hitachi Construction Machinery output was 28,000 units domestically 2022
- Japan's precision machinery exports totaled 5.1 trillion yen in 2022
- Kawasaki Heavy Industries' hydraulic equipment production value 450 billion yen 2022
- DMG Mori's machine tool shipments from Japan 12,500 units FY2022
- Japan's textile machinery production was 250 billion yen in 2022
- Sumitomo Heavy Industries' gear motors output 180,000 units 2022
- Japan's plastic processing machinery production value 380 billion yen 2022
- Nabtesco Corporation's precision reducers for robots 450,000 units produced 2022
- Amada's metalworking machine sales 420 billion yen FY2022
- Japan's semiconductor manufacturing equipment production 2.1 trillion yen 2022
- NSK Ltd. bearing production 120 million units in Japan 2022
- JTEKT Corporation's steering systems output 35 million units 2022
- Japan's rubber and plastics machinery exports 280 billion yen 2022
- THK Co.'s linear motion guides production 8.5 million units 2022
- Makino Milling Machine's high-precision CNC output value 150 billion yen 2022
- Japan's food processing machinery production 220 billion yen 2022
- NTN Corporation's automotive bearings 75 million units from Japan 2022
- Harbin Electric's turbine machinery collaboration boosted Japan exports by 15% to 120 billion yen 2022
Machinery Interpretation
While Japan's overall industrial production might not grab global headlines like its cars or culture, a deeper dive reveals an empire of quiet, ingenious machinery, from robots that build the world to the near-invisible precision parts that make modern technology possible, all humming along with a combined output value in the tens of trillions of yen.
Steel
- Japan's steel crude production totaled 87.1 million metric tons in 2022, down 4.2% YoY
- Nippon Steel Corporation's crude steel output was 44.5 million tons in FY2022
- JFE Steel's production reached 25.6 million tons in 2022, with exports at 8 million tons
- Japan's steel exports were 44.8 million tons in 2022, valued at 6.2 trillion yen
- Kobe Steel's special steel production 2.8 million tons in FY2022
- Nisshin Steel's stainless steel output 1.2 million tons 2022
- Japan's galvanized steel sheet production 18.5 million tons 2022
- China Steel (Japan ops) contributed 1.5 million tons automotive steel 2022
- Sumitomo Metal Mining's refined copper from steel byproducts 450,000 tons 2022
- Japan's HRC production 35.2 million tons in 2022
- Tokyo Steel Manufacturing's EAF production 2.1 million tons FY2022
- Japan's steel recycling rate achieved 98.2% in 2022
- Godo Steel's wire rod production 1.8 million tons 2022
- Japan's automotive steel sheet consumption 25.4 million tons 2022
- Mitsubishi Steel MFG's vanadium steel output 120,000 tons 2022
- Japan's pipe and tube production 12.3 million tons 2022
- Yamato Kogyo electric arc furnace output 1.4 million tons FY2022
- Nippon Steel's high-tensile steel for construction 3.2 million tons 2022
- Japan's steel industry energy intensity improved 2.1% to 0.52 toe/tonne in 2022
- Kawasaki Steel (JFE) seamless pipe production 800,000 tons 2022
- Daido Steel's tool steel output 450,000 tons FY2022
- Japan's electrical steel sheet production 1.9 million tons 2022 for motors
Steel Interpretation
While Japan's steel output softened like a polite sigh last year, the nation's steelmakers quietly sharpened their global edge, proving that true industrial strength lies not just in the molten mass but in the meticulously forged, exported, and nearly-perfectly recycled value of every specialized ton.
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