On February 18, reports indicated that Japan’s export volume in January experienced the sharpest growth in more than three years, largely propelled by significant increases in chip exports to Asia and automobile exports to the European Union. According to a report issued by Japan’s Ministry of Finance on Wednesday, the total export value for January rose by 16.8% year-on-year, marking the largest increase since November 2022 and outpacing analysts’ expectations, which had hovered around 13%. Notably, shipments of semiconductors and other electronic components soared by nearly 40%, with exports to China surging by an impressive 51.7%. In terms of regional performance, exports to China increased by 32%, while those to the EU climbed by 29.6%. In contrast, exports to the United States saw a decline of 5%. The data for exports to China was partly affected by the timing of the Spring Festival holiday, which occurred in January the previous year. Automobile exports to the United States fell by 9.9% in value but only slightly by 0.8% in volume, suggesting that Japanese automakers are cutting prices to maintain their market share in the U.S., a strategy that may constrain their ability to raise wages domestically and introduce potential risks.