Japan and Canada: Connected by people, travel and trade

The Japanese community has deep roots in Canada going back to the Meiji Restoration, the birth of British Columbia and the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 19th century. Today, Japan is Canada's third-largest trading partner in terms of exports, and a record high 425,874 Canadians visited the land of the rising sun in 2023.

Japanese immigration to Canada has deep roots

Almost 63% of the 129,430 people in Canada who reported Japanese ethnicity in the 2021 Census of Population, including single and multiple responses, said they were second generation (38,810 people) or third generation or more (42,425).

Immigration from Japan to Canada is slow but steady

Just under 8,900 Japanese nationals immigrated to Canada during the decade leading up to the 2021 Census, with 4,540 immigrating from 2011 to 2015 and 4,445 immigrating from 2016 to 2021.

By way of comparison, just over 1.328 million people immigrated to Canada from 2016 to 2021.

Canadians account for a very small share of the small immigrant community in Japan

Approximately 1.9% of the 126 million people living in Japan at the time of their 2020 Census were immigrants. By way of comparison, almost one in four Canadians (23.0%) reported they were immigrants in 2021.

There were 9,848 Canadians living in Japan in 2020. Less than half (41.6%, or 4,103 people) were permanent residents.

Tokyo (2,828), Kanagawa Prefecture (760) and Osaka (537) had the largest Canadian communities in Japan in 2020.

Canadians accounted for 0.4% of the 2.8 million foreigners living in Japan in 2020.

Canada’s exports to Japan fall at the fastest pace since the 2008 and 2009 financial crisis

Canada exported $15.9 billion in goods to Japan on a balance-of-payments basis in 2023, down 12.7% from a year earlier and the largest drop in exports to Japan since the financial crises of 2008 and 2009.

While Japan is our third most important export partner, it accounted for 2.1% of Canada's total exports in 2023.

Canada’s imports from Japan up by over one-quarter

Canada imports from Japan rose by 27.0% to $15.2 billion in 2023, accounting for 2.0% of Canada's total imports during the year.

Canada's trade surplus with Japan fell to $739 million in 2023, the lowest surplus since 2019.

Relatively little direct investment between Canada and Japan

Japanese direct investment in the Canadian economy totalled $27.0 billion in 2022, accounting for 2.1% of the total stock of foreign direct investment in Canada.

Canadian direct investment in Japan stood at $2.2 billion in 2022, accounting for 0.1% of Canada's total direct investment abroad.

Japanese visits to Canada remain well below pre-pandemic levels

Canada welcomed 120,627 visitors from Japan in 2023, up 126.7% from a year earlier but less than half (46.3%) of the visits in 2019, prior to the pandemic. In January 2024, Japan ranked as Canada’s 12th most important overseas tourist market.

Throughout the 1990s, Japan consistently ranked as Canada's second most important overseas tourist market. By 2023, Japan had fallen to 10th.

Canadian visits to Japan hit record high in 2023

Japan welcomed a record high 425,874 Canadian visits in 2023, eclipsing the previous record of 375,262 in 2019, just prior to the pandemic.

Tokyo, Chiba Prefecture and the Kansai region, which includes Osaka and Kyoto, were the most popular destinations in Japan for Canadian travellers in 2023.