Due to the appreciation of the yen, Japanese companies vigorously moved into Thailand in the1980s. Presently more than 1,000 Japanese companies are registered at the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok. In the field of trade, Japan has been Thailand's largest trading partner for a long time, although recently, partly because of the current economic crisis, this trade volume has dropped to the second largest after the United States in March 1998. Thailand has suffered an adverse trade balance because the country largely depends on imports for most of their intermediate and capital goods, which are serving for Thai export. Since the beginning of 1996, however, Thai imports from Japan have been decreasing due to the economic slowdown, so the trade imbalance between the two countries is now becoming smaller.
Japan is the largest donor country for Thailand in the midst of the economic crisis.
Japan has been providing financial and technical support to Thailand, totaling more than 12.6 billion US dollars. In addition, Japan's support measures include an emergency grant aid of 950,000 US dollars for Thai students studying in Japan. There have been many cultural activities between Thailand and Japan in fields such as arts, sports, and exchange of youth. In particular, the Japanese community in Thailand plays a central role at times of important events related to auspicious events involving the Royal Family of Thailand. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's enthronement, which took place in 1996, Kyogen and Thai-Japan joint dance and concerts have been held since 1994.