It seems that Japan’s embargo on South Korean goods is hurting Japan as well. In protest of the trade restrictions Japan put in place recently, South Korean citizens are hitting back through their “Boycott Japan” movement. Recent reports of Korea Customs Service (KCS) show that the biggest losers are Japan’s car and beer industries.
The boycott has also greatly affected Japan’s beer industry. This fact is reflected in the steep drop in the import of Japanese-made beer products. According to KCS’s report, South Koreans imported 52.2 % less Japanese beer between July and August. This decline translates to a $3.55 million lost revenue for Japan’s beer producers. The presence of local breweries also made recovery difficult for Japanese beer makers.
Japan’s car industry has no less suffered the same fate with their beer industry. Korea’s importation of Japanese cars also dropped by 17.2% or $13.65 million for the month of July compared to June.
Some big league car manufacturers that reportedly suffer include Toyota Motors and Honda whose sales dropped 38% and 43%, respectively. Nissan’s sales also dropped by 30% in July for the UAT testing. Car makers, however, say that there are other factors that may have affected by other
“The boycott appears to have resulted in decreased purchase of Japanese imports,” a KCS official said during a press conference. “The figures are preliminary, and the exact data will come out in mid-August.”
Japan’s series of trade restrictions on South Korea began when the latter demanded Japanese firms to compensate the victims of Japan’s war crimes during the World War II. These restrictions included the ban on exports of materials for highly-advances devices to Korea. Another notable restriction was Japan’s removal of Korea from their list of trusted partners. The last policy resulted to South Korean manufacturers having difficulties dealing with their Japanese partners.
