JAPAN DATA: Bisphenol-A imports rise 61% on year in H1

Japan imported about 69,727 metric tons of bisphenol-A over January-June, up 60.8% year over year, as shipments from South Korea more than doubled over the same period, data from Japan's Customs and Tariff Bureau showed.

Imports from South Korea stood at 40,834 mt in H1 2026, rising 118.5% from 18,688 mt in H1 2025, surpassing Taiwan to become the largest origin for Japan's bisphenol-A imports over the period.

Taiwan remained another major source of BPA imports into Japan, with volumes rising 6.0% year over year to 25,749 mt in H1 2026 from 24,929 mt a year earlier.

Imports from China increased sharply to 3,144 mt in H1 2026 from 384 mt in H1 2025, although the rise came from a relatively small base compared with the volumes from South Korea and Taiwan.

A Northeast Asian BPA exporter said Japanese buyers have continued to seek imported material due to limited domestic availability.

"[There were] supply shortages in Japan and prices remained high," the exporter said.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Finance announced July 24 that it had extended an antidumping investigation into BPA imports from South Korea and Taiwan by six months to Feb. 19, 2027, citing the need to review evidence submitted by interested parties. The probe was originally launched Aug. 20, 2025, following an application by Mitsubishi Chemical and Mitsui Chemicals.

Japan's domestic BPA supply has shrunk in recent years. Idemitsu Kosan had halted BPA operations at its Chiba complex in October 2024, Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, reported earlier, citing worsening market conditions and regional oversupply stemming from capacity expansions across Asia. The Chiba plant had a production capacity of 81,000 mt/year of BPA.

Japan's H1 2026 BPA imports:

* Includes origins with sporadic or small volumes

Source: Japan's Customs and Tariff Bureau