Rice and other agricultural crops have become one focus of tariff negotiations between Japan and the United States, but Japan is already a major importer of US crops.

Japan has faced criticism from the United States for high tariffs on rice. However, under its “minimum access” (MA) system, it allows annual tariff-free imports of rice at 770,000 tons, following World Trade Organization rules. In fiscal 2024, Japan imported 767,000 tons of MA rice, with the United States accounting for the largest share at 346,000 tons (45%), followed by Thailand at 286,000 tons (37.3%), Australia at 70,000 tons (9.1%), and China at 42,000 tons (5.5%).

According to Ministry of Finance data, Japan imported 14.9 million tons of corn in 2023, primarily for use as animal feed. The largest supplier was the United States, accounting for 6.7 million tons (or 45.8% of all imports), followed by Brazil at 6.6 million tons (44.7%) and Argentina at 0.8 million tons (5.1%).

In 2023, Japan imported 3.2 million tons of soybeans. The United States was the top supplier, at 2.2 million tons or 68.7% of the total; followed by Brazil at 0.7 million tons (20.5%) and Canada at 0.3 million tons (10.3%).

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)

Published Date: May 13, 2025