Progress of Japan's Machine Tool Industry
Japanese machine tool manufacturers took a keen early interest in the applied development of NC (numericalcontrol) technology, which was developed in the United States in the first half of the 1950s. As a result of having
aggressively introduced NC technology, Japan quickly achieved further development of the technology. By the late1970s, world markets had already come to appreciate the performance of Japanese NC machine tools. And byriding the growing wave of the mainstreaming of NC machine tools, Japan took over in 1982 as the world leader
in the production volume of NC machine tools, which till then had been led by the United States, after that, Japan
held that position for 27 consecutive years. Since 2009, China has become the world's largest producer, and Japan
continues to compete with Germany for the second place, but due to its high technical level, production capacity,and detailed after-sales service, it has become highly reliable in Japanese machine tools. Japan is considered tobe a major manufacturer of machine tools.
Looking back on the history of Japan's machine tool industry in terms of production trends, from 1988 to 1994,
production rapidly increased against the backdrop of strong domestic demand, and in 1990 it reached a record
high of 1,303.4 billion yen. Although it was the highest amount in our history, production dropped sharply due tothe collapse of the bubble economy.
From 2003 to 2009, total production value increased to 1,303.2 billion yen in 2007, due to renewal market during
the booming period of 1990 and the revival of heavy industries in domestic demand, and the rise of the Chinese
manufacturing industry and the overseas expansion of Japanese companies in external demand. Although theamount increased, due to the Lehman shock, production dropped sharply to 486.3 billion yen in 2009, the level ofabout 30 years ago.
In the development since 2013, against the backdrop of the rise of emerging economies and the trend towardhigher added value and efficiency, the demand increased significantly centered on smartphone manufacturing byelectronic equipment manufacturing contract service (EMS), semiconductor manufacturing equipment following
the development of IoT and the automobile industry, which focuses on fuel efficiency regulations and developmentof next-generation vehicles and the production generally remained at a high level.
In recent years, disturbance factors such as intensifying trade friction between the United States and China,frequent occurrence of natural disasters in Japan, and the global epidemic of the new coronavirus infection havegreatly affected the increase and decrease in production, and the shortage of parts is currently a hindrance toproduction.
Turning to trade, imports greatly exceeded exports for a while during the post-war period because domestic
machine tools did not at first have adequate supply channels or technological capabilities. But exports rose
sharply starting from the 1960s, when domestic machine tools began showing competitive edges. Exports finally
topped imports in 1972. Looking at export destinations, until the 1980s, exports were mainly to Europe and North
America, but since 2000, exports to Asia account for 40 to 50%.

Recent Trends of Machine Tool Demand and Supply(Value in 100 Millions of Yen) ( ): comparison %Year
Total Orders
Domestic Orders
share (%)
Foreign Orders
share (%)
Production
NC Machine Tools
NC ratio

2017201820192020

2022

16,456 ( 131.6) 18,158 ( 110.3) 12,299 ( 67.7)

9,018 ( 73.3) 15,414 ( 170.9) 17,596 ( 114.2)

6,294 ( 118.6)

7,503 ( 119.2)

4,932 ( 65.7)

3,245 ( 65.8)

5,103 ( 157.3)

6,032 ( 118.2)

38.2

41.3

40.1

36.0

33.1

34.3

10,162 ( 141.2) 10,654 ( 104.8)
61.8

58.7

7,367 ( 69.1)
59.9

5,774 ( 78.4) 10,311 ( 178.6) 11,564 ( 112.1)
64.0

66.9

65.7

11,298 ( 111.6) 12,368 ( 109.5) 10,725 ( 86.7)

7,240 ( 67.5)

8,954 ( 123.7) 10,788 ( 120.5)

10,289 ( 112.9) 11,191 ( 108.8)

9,644 ( 86.2)

6,600 ( 68.4)

8,338 ( 126.3) 10,131 ( 121.5)

91.1

90.5

89.9

91.2

93.1

93.9

Export

7,862 ( 118.0)

8,817 ( 112.1)

7,351 ( 83.4)

5,296 ( 72.0)

7,126 ( 134.6)

8,571 ( 120.3)

Import723 ( 92.4)

906 ( 125.3)

860 (94.9)

555 ( 64.6)

608 ( 109.5)

840 ( 138.2)

Import Dependancy
Ratio (%)

17.4

20.3

20.3

22.2

Source; Orders: JMTBA, Production: METI, Export and Import: Ministry of Finance (MOF)

42021

MACHINE TOOL INDUSTRY JAPAN 2023

25.027.5

Machine Tool Demand and Supply in Japan(Value in 100 Millions of Yen)

19,00018,15818,00017,596

Orders (current base)

17,00015,90016,00015,000

Production

14,00013,032

13,00012,581

12,00010,78811,00010,000

9,619

9,215
9,000

8,571

8,000

7,000

Exports
6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000
1,356

Imports

916

1,000

0
‘02 03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

15

840

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

Source; Orders: JMTBA, Production: METI, Export and Import: MOF

MACHINE TOOL INDUSTRY JAPAN 2023

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