Written by Enrico D’Ambrogio and Giulio Sabbati (both EPRS),

In cooperation with Laura Bartolini (from GlobalStat | EUI),

Japan is one of the most developed countries in the world. Its per capita GDP, though lower than in the past, is still higher than that of the EU. Unemployment is traditionally low. In terms of the Human Development Index (HDI), Japan is better placed than many EU Member States. However, it also has the largest public debt among the OECD countries and slow GDP growth.

The EU-Japan Free Trade Agreement currently being negotiated may exploit the untapped potential of economic relations. For instance, Japanese FDI inflows to the EU are decreasing, while EU investment in Japan is far from significant, despite a generally favourable Japanese business environment.

Download this infographic on ‘Japan: Economic indicators and trade with EU‘ in PDF.

GlobalStat, a project of the EUI’s Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies and the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation aims to offer the best available gateway to statistical data. It is easily accessible, intuitive to use, and free of charge. In just three clicks it offers data from 1960 onwards for 193 UN countries, five continents and 12 political and regional entities – including the European Union – gathered from over 80 international sources. The project, presents data as diverse as income distribution, water resources, housing, migration, land use, food production, nutrition, or life expectancy, which contributes to a better understanding of the interrelations between human living conditions and globalisation trends.