Japan’s imports grew 3.3% year-on-year to an eight-month high of JPY 9,648.3 billion in September 2025, marking the first increase in three months and far exceeding market expectations of a 0.6% rise. It also represented the fastest pace of purchases since January amid government efforts to boost consumption and ease energy prices. Purchases increased from China (9.8%), the U.S. (7.1%), Hong Kong (3.3%), Taiwan (9.4%), the ASEAN countries (3.3%), the EU (13.0%), and Russia (4.1%), but dropped from South Korea (-1.9%), India (-15.6%), Australia (-19.8%), and the Middle East (-9.8%).