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Japan's
trade used to be marked by imports of raw materials and
energy resources, which were used to manufacture
industrial products for export. But recently,
manufactured imports have been increasing. This is
because the Japanese are buying more foreign goods,
whose prices have come down due to the strong yen, and
because import-promotion policies have been adopted to
correct the trade imbalance.
Manufactured
imports accounted for 59.3% of all imports in 1997 by
value, twice the share they claimed almost a decade ago.
The total value of imports in 1997 was $338.7 billion,
against $420.8 billion for exports. The main export
items were machineries, including computers, accounting
for 32.3% of the total. Other major export categories
were electrical appliances (32%) and cars and other
transport equipment (29.2%). The list of imports was
headed by machinery products, including cars, television
sets, videocassette recorders, computers, cameras, and
watches, which accounted for 28.0% of the total. In
second place came petroleum and other energy resources
(18.4%), followed by foodstuffs (14.5%) and iron ore and
other minerals (5.3%).
Japanese
are now surrounded by imports in the things they wear
and use every day: their clothing and footwear, tables,
sofas and other furniture, carpets, china, bags and
accessories, stationery, toys, and countless other
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