Canada already sells Japan about $10 billion a year, and most of it is raw. The interesting money is in what we could be sending instead.
Japan is not a new market for Canada. It is an underused one. Under the CPTPP, Canadian goods get duty-free or falling-tariff access across the board — and Japanese buyers already know and trust Canadian product. What almost no Canadian small business has done is go after it deliberately.
Here is what Canada currently sells Japan, roughly, by value: agricultural products around $3.9 billion — canola seed, pork, wheat. Metals and minerals about $3.3 billion. Forest products about $1.5 billion. Medical devices and pharmaceuticals about $454 million. Fish and seafood about $307 million.
Read that list again and notice what it is. It is overwhelmingly commodities: things dug up, grown, or cut down and shipped in bulk. Very little of it is finished, branded, or sold at a premium. That gap is the opportunity, and the trade agreement has already removed the tariff excuse.
What the CPTPP actually did to the tariffs
These are the real numbers, and they are worth knowing because they are unusually generous.
| Product | Japanese tariff before | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Frozen blueberries | 9.6% | Eliminated immediately |
| Snow crab | 4% | Eliminated immediately |
| Lobster | 5% | Eliminated immediately |
| Worked wood products | up to 7.5% | Eliminated immediately |
| Aluminum products | up to 7.5% | Eliminated immediately |
| Canola oil | up to 13.20 yen/kg | Phased out over 5 years |
| Salmon | up to 3.5% | Phased out over 10 years |
| Beef | 38.5% | Falling to 9% over 15 years |
| Lumber, plywood and veneer | 6–10% | Phased out over 15 years |
Canada also holds a country-specific wheat quota starting at 40,000 tonnes and rising to 53,000 tonnes. And the seafood story is worth pausing on: Japanese tariffs on fish and seafood go to zero under the agreement — while the same products are, as it happens, untouched by the current Canada–US measures in either direction.
Why Japan is harder than Europe, and why it is worth it
Relationships come before orders
Japanese buyers move slowly, ask for a great deal of detail, and then stay for a very long time. The courtship is expensive. The customer lifetime is the payoff.
Specification is not negotiable
Consistency matters more than price. If your product varies batch to batch, fix that before you approach anyone, because you will be measured on it.
The trading house structure
Much of Japan’s import trade still runs through established intermediaries. Going around them is possible and occasionally right, but it is a strategy, not an oversight.
Japanese, properly
Machine-translated marketing reads as carelessness, and carelessness is disqualifying. This is the single most common own goal Canadian exporters score here.
Packaging is part of the product
Presentation carries real commercial weight in Japan, particularly in food and gifting. A good product in indifferent packaging loses to a decent product in excellent packaging.
Canada already has a good name
Clean, safe, natural, reliable. That reputation is an asset you did not pay for and most Canadian exporters never explicitly use.
Who this suits
- Food and drink with a verifiable origin story — seafood, berries, maple, specialty grains, craft beverages. Japan pays premiums for provenance and traceability that North American buyers will not.
- Natural health, skincare and wellness built on Canadian ingredients.
- Wood and engineered wood products, where tariffs are falling and Canadian supply is already respected.
- Precision components and industrial supply, where reliability beats price.
- Anything you currently sell as a raw input that could be sold one step further along.
What we would build
A Japanese-language presence that is not embarrassing
Properly written pages, correct typography, and the product detail a Japanese buyer expects to see before they will contact you at all.
A specification pack
The document buyers will ask for on first contact — composition, process, certifications, capacity, lead times — assembled once, in both languages, so you answer in a day instead of a month.
Importer and distributor mapping
Who actually brings your category into Japan, who they already carry, and which of them has a gap you could fill.
A traceability layer
If provenance is your premium, prove it — batch-level origin data a buyer can check, which is a software problem and one we like.
Questions people ask
Do Canadian goods pay tariffs entering Japan?
Many now enter duty-free under the CPTPP, and others are on a declining schedule. Seafood, worked wood and aluminum products went to zero immediately; beef is falling from 38.5% toward 9%; canola oil, salmon and lumber are phasing out over five to fifteen years.
Is the CPTPP affected by the Canada–US tariff dispute?
No. It is a separate agreement between different countries, and the United States is not a member. That is precisely why it is worth attention this year.
Do I need a Japanese partner?
Usually yes, at least at first. An importer or distributor handles regulatory compliance, warehousing, and the relationship management that a Canadian company operating from thirteen time zones away cannot.
How long until a first order?
Longer than Europe. Plan on twelve to eighteen months from first contact to first commercial shipment, and treat anything faster as a pleasant surprise.
Is it worth it for a small business?
It depends entirely on margin. If you sell a differentiated product at a decent margin, one Japanese distributor relationship can be transformative. If you compete on price, it will not be.
Find out whether Japan fits your business → · Europe · Australia & New Zealand · Getting found overseas
InfiniteUp is a four-person software studio in Nanaimo, BC. 40+ apps shipped, 60,000+ installs, 117 countries. See our work.
Trade figures are Government of Canada averages and tariff outcomes are summarized from the CPTPP schedules; confirm the rate for your specific tariff classification with a licensed customs broker before quoting. Operational guidance from a software studio, not legal, customs, or tax advice. Last reviewed 10 September 2026.