Japan Markets Plunged 3% After U.S. Imposed Stiff Tariffs On All Imports

Akira Ito
03 Apr, 2025
Tokyo

Stock market indexes plunged and dropped to six-month lows after the U.S. president announced sweeping tariffs covering all imports. 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average and the broader TOPIX declined 3% after the U.S. imposed 24% tariffs on imports of goods from Japan and 25% on Japanese automobiles. 

The widely anticipated move is expected to hit hard shipments of Japanese automobiles, consumer goods, chemicals, and machinery to the United States. 

Manufacturing companies are scrambling to understand details of the tariffs, implementation plans, and scope of taxes. 

The U.S. announced additional tariffs of 34% on goods shipped from China, 25% from South Korea, 26% from India, and 20% from the European Union. 

All imports will be taxed at least 10% starting as early as this week; however, there are some key engineered products and minerals that may be excluded from the newly imposed taxes.

The wide-ranging tariffs are likely to be inflationary and shrink worldwide trade, as key trading partners prepare to announce their retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports. 

China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and the European Union are expected to target U.S. agricultural products and services. 

Shipments from Japan account for less than 5% of all goods imports to the United States but account for about 19% of all Japanese goods exports.

 

Japan Indexes and Stocks 

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 2.8% to 34,735.93, and the broader TOPIX index declined 3% to 2,568.61.  

Toyota Motor declined 5% to ¥2,518.50, Honda Motor fell 2.1% to ¥1,329.50, and Nissan Motor decreased 3.7% to ¥361.40. 

In addition, Nissan confirmed it has suspended parts of production in Mexico, as the company had previously announced. 

IHI Corp. declined 4.9% to ¥10,265.0, Kawasaki Heavy Industries dropped 7% to ¥8,393.0, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries fell 1.9% to ¥2,517.50.

Sony Group Corp. declined 3.5% to ¥3,512.0, Canon Inc. fell 4.9% to ¥4,463.0, Olympus Corp. decreased 3.2% to ¥1,853.0, and Fanuc dropped 5.7% to ¥3,835.0.