BUYUSA.GOV -- U.S. Commercial Service

Japan Local time: 06:56 PM

Housing Products & Textiles

＜＜Revision of Japanese Building Standards Law＞＞
Advisory to U.S. exporters of building products to Japan

TRADE EVENTS

Japan Home & Building Show in Tokyo (November 11 - 13, 2009)

NAHB International Builders Show in Las Vegas (January 19 - 22, 2010)

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

(for full report, please access our Market Research Library )

Housing Starts and Imports of Building Products
The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) announced Japan's total housing starts for August 2009 at a level of 59,749 units, a 38.3% decrease compared to August 2008.  Year on year starts of single-family and multi-family dwellings and row houses decreased 20.9% to 33,301 units, 56.4% to 20,764 units, and 21.2% to 5,684 units, respectively.  Year on year 2x4 and prefabricated housing starts decreased by 24.7% to 6,957 units and 22.3% to 10,719 units, respectively.  Seasonally adjusted housing starts on an annual basis decreased 9.3% to 676,248 units in August 2009, as compared to July 2009.
Total imports of building products to Japan for the seven-month period from January to July 2009 decreased 21.1% to 571.0 billion yen (about US$6.42 billion at 89.00 yen/US$), compared to 724.1 billion yen (about US$7.00 billion at 103.39 yen/US$) for the same period in 2008.  Imports from the United States decreased 25.2% to 38.5 billion yen (US$432.1 million) from January to July 2009, compared to 51.4 billion yen (US$497.4 million) in the same period in 2008.

UPCOMING REPORT

Housing Starts in Japan – September 2009 (late November 2009)
Imports of Building Products to Japan – August 2009 (late November 2009)

USEFUL LINKS

Residential Building Products

CS JAPAN CONTACTS

Unit Chief: Pat Cassidy
Residential Building Products: Takahiko Suzuki