Japan. no. 3 in trading. (Japanese economy) David H. Ahl.

With $147 billion in exports and $126 billion in imports, Japan continued to Rank third in world trade in 1983. Exports were up 5.8% from 1982 but imports dropped 4.2%. The United States is the top ranked world trading power followed by West Germany.

In 1983, automobiles continued to be Japan's biggest export item, followed by steel, tape recorders (video and audio), and ships.

Japan's biggest import was oil, although it decreased to 32% of the total from 35% the year before. Imports of manufactured goods increased from 24.9% to 27.2%, the highest they have been since 1973 when they accounted for 30.6% of total imports.

Moreover, Japanese trading is continuing to increase in 1984. Exports of videotape recorders in February were up 55.5% from a year earlier and up 44.3% from January. Exports of color TV sets also rose 36.3% from a year earlier. Indeed, virtually every sector from shipbuilding from year ago figures.

The U.S. was Japan's largest export market during February. Export agreements with the U.S. jumped 99.6% from a year ago buoyed by large contracts for steel, textiles, chemical products, and metals.