Monday 24 / February / 2025
Tokyo: Japan's digital trade deficit hit a record high of 6.46 trillion yen ($43 billion) in 2024, reflecting the dominance of services provided by US technology giants, Japan's finance ministry said.
The size of Japan's IT deficit has more than tripled in the past decade from 2.02 trillion yen in 2014, according to preliminary data released by the Finance Ministry earlier this month (February 2025).
The ballooning imbalance can be attributed to Japanese companies being increasingly reliant on digital technologies provided by US tech giants to improve efficiency due to a lack of domestic alternatives.
The digital trade balance includes payments for cloud infrastructure services, online advertising and licensing.
Revenue generated by major US tech firms is only expected to grow in Japan as individuals and businesses increasingly digitise.
