Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
Revenue in the Japanese Apparel market amounts to US$89.98bn in 2023
The Apparel market is expected to grow annually by 2.30% (CAGR 2023-2027)
The market volume of the Japanese fashion industry is projected to reach US$102.60bn by 2027
The e-commerce penetration rate for apparel in Japan reached 21.15% in 2022
Fashion is the largest B2C e-commerce segment in Japan
ZOZOTOWN is Japan's largest specialized fashion e-commerce mall with over 8 million active members
Japanese households spent an average of 122,000 yen on clothing and footwear in 2022
Women aged 30-39 are the highest spenders in the Japanese apparel market
58% of Japanese consumers prioritize comfort over style when purchasing clothes
Japan makes up approx 8-10% of the total global personal luxury goods market
The Japanese domestic reuse (second-hand) clothing market size is estimated at 1.1 trillion yen in 2025
Louis Vuitton generates more revenue in Japan than in any other single country outside of China and the US
Fast Retailing (Uniqlo/GU) is the largest apparel company in Japan with sales over 2.7 trillion yen
Japan imports 97-98% of its apparel, with domestic production falling below 3%
China accounts for approximately 60% of Japan’s textile and clothing imports
Consumer Behavior & Demographics
- Japanese households spent an average of 122,000 yen on clothing and footwear in 2022
- Women aged 30-39 are the highest spenders in the Japanese apparel market
- 58% of Japanese consumers prioritize comfort over style when purchasing clothes
- Only 22% of Japanese consumers consider sustainability a key factor in fashion purchases, lower than the global average
- The senior demographic (60+) accounts for over 40% of total luxury spending in Japan
- Japanese consumers have the highest brand loyalty in Asia for heritage brands
- 35% of Japanese men in their 20s purchase grooming and skincare products alongside fashion items
- Spending on school uniforms ("Seifuku") averages 40,000 to 60,000 yen per household upon entry to high school
- Japanese singles spend 1.5 times more on fashion than married individuals of the same age
- "Oshi-katsu" (activities to support idols) drives 15% of fashion accessories sales among Gen Z women
- The demand for "Made in Japan" quality is cited by 65% of consumers for denim and leather goods
- 40% of Japanese consumers research fashion items on magazines before buying, a higher rate than Western markets
- Seasonal changing of wardrobes ("Koromogae") prompts a 30% spike in retail traffic in June and October
- Japanese consumers purchase an average of 18 new garments per year
- 70% of clothing disposal in Japan involves incineration, influencing consumer guilt and resale adoption
- Demand for "Petite" sizes is unique to Japan, with 30% of brands offering specialized small sizing
- The "Solo Wedding" fashion photography market has grown fueled by single women in their 30s
- Gift-giving accounts for 15% of annual scarf and handkerchief sales in Japan
- Japanese Gen Z purchase frequency of fast fashion is 2x higher than Millennials
- The acceptance of business casual in Japan increased by 45% following the "Cool Biz" government campaigns
Interpretation
Japan's fashion market is a study in contrasts: households spend handsomely but favor comfort, women in their 30s and singles lead spending while seniors dominate luxury, heritage brands and Made-in-Japan quality command loyalty even as sustainability lags, magazines and seasonal koromogae drive purchases, Gen Z's fast-fashion and idol-driven oshi-katsu accessories coexist with rising resale interest fueled by guilt over mass incineration, and niche trends from petite sizing to solo wedding shoots and increased male grooming show a conservative market quietly reinventing itself.
E-Commerce & Digital
- The e-commerce penetration rate for apparel in Japan reached 21.15% in 2022
- Fashion is the largest B2C e-commerce segment in Japan
- ZOZOTOWN is Japan's largest specialized fashion e-commerce mall with over 8 million active members
- Rakuten Ichiba accounts for approximately 28% of all domestic e-commerce traffic, heavily driven by fashion
- Roughly 60% of online fashion purchases in Japan are made via smartphones
- Uniqlo's domestic e-commerce sales reached 126 billion yen in fiscal year 2022
- Amazon Japan is the preferred platform for 20% of Japanese consumers buying fashion basics
- The return rate for online fashion in Japan is significantly lower than the US, averaging around 3-5%
- Mash Style Lab (Snidel, Gelato Pique) generates over 40% of its revenue through e-commerce channels
- Subscription fashion rental services in Japan, like AirCloset, have grown to a market size of 30 billion yen
- Instagram is cited by 28% of Japanese Gen Z as their primary source for fashion discovery
- Live commerce (livestream shopping) in the Japanese fashion sector grew by 150% in 2022
- The domestic Japanese cross-border e-commerce market (imports) is valued at nearly 300 billion yen, mainly fashion
- Japanese fashion app WEAR has over 16 million downloads
- Mercari is the most used app for buying second-hand fashion online in Japan
- 44% of Japanese internet users have purchased clothing or footwear online in the past year
- Pay-later services (BNPL) utilization in Japanese fashion e-commerce increased by 20% in 2023
- SHEIN became the most downloaded shopping app in Japan in 2022, disrupting the fast fashion e-commerce space
- The O2O (Online to Offline) market in Japan fashion retail is estimated at 55 trillion yen including influenced sales
- Virtual fashion and NFT avatar wear market in Japan is expected to reach 50 billion yen by 2025
Interpretation
Japan's fashion industry has quietly turned into a digital powerhouse: roughly 60% of purchases happen on smartphones, fashion is the largest B2C e-commerce segment with about 21% online penetration, ZOZOTOWN, Rakuten and Uniqlo command massive share while Amazon covers basics and Mercari rules resale, SHEIN has shaken up fast fashion, low return rates plus rising BNPL, subscription rentals and a 150% surge in live commerce are accelerating sales, and O2O and virtual fashion signal even bigger upside.
Luxury & Second-Hand
- Japan makes up approx 8-10% of the total global personal luxury goods market
- The Japanese domestic reuse (second-hand) clothing market size is estimated at 1.1 trillion yen in 2025
- Louis Vuitton generates more revenue in Japan than in any other single country outside of China and the US
- Second Street, a major reuse retailer, operates over 800 stores across Japan
- Japan has the highest per capita consumption of luxury leather goods in the world
- The vintage denim market in Japan commands prices up to 50% higher than global averages due to collector demand
- 52% of Japanese luxury consumers have purchased a pre-owned luxury item
- Foreign tourists accounted for 30% of luxury sales in Japan pre-pandemic, a figure currently recovering
- Hermes sales in Japan grew by 20% in 2022 despite economic headwinds
- Japan is the largest market for Comme des Garçons, accounting for nearly 60% of its turnover
- The "Recycle Shop" market (general reuse including clothes) has doubled in size since 2010
- Komehyo, Japan's leading luxury reseller, reported record profits of 5 billion yen in 2023
- Tokyo (specifically Ginza and Omotesando) hosts the highest density of luxury flagship stores in Asia
- 15% of global sales for Moncler come from the Japanese market
- Japanese streetwear resale prices on platforms like StockX are on average 10% higher than US counterparts due to condition
- Burberry's brand awareness in Japan is over 90%, a legacy of its former licensing deals
- The Japanese jewellery market is dominated by Tiffany & Co., Cartier, and domestic brand Mikimoto
- Issey Miyake revenue remains predominantly domestic, with Japan comprising 55% of sales
- The market for remade/upcycled kimono fashion is growing at 8% annually
- Watch resale market in Japan is valued at over 200 billion yen
Interpretation
Japan has become the world's most paradoxical fashion market, where an insatiable appetite for luxury—seen in the highest per capita leather consumption, dominant sales for heritage houses, and flagship density in Ginza and Omotesando—coexists with a booming and highly profitable second-hand ecosystem and a growing upcycled kimono scene, making the country both indispensable to global brands and unusually resilient to economic headwinds.
Market Size & Economics
- Revenue in the Japanese Apparel market amounts to US$89.98bn in 2023
- The Apparel market is expected to grow annually by 2.30% (CAGR 2023-2027)
- The market volume of the Japanese fashion industry is projected to reach US$102.60bn by 2027
- In the Apparel market, volume is expected to amount to 3.19bn pieces by 2027
- The Women's Apparel segment is the largest, with a market volume of US$49.63bn in 2023
- The Japanese Men's Apparel market is valued at approximately US$26.40bn in 2023
- The Children's Apparel segment in Japan generates roughly US$13.95bn in 2023
- Japan is the third-largest apparel market in the world after the US and China
- The average price per unit in the Apparel market is expected to be US$27.50 in 2023
- Japanese footwear market revenue is projected to reach US$27.52bn by 2028
- The sportswear market in Japan was valued at roughly 1.6 trillion Japanese yen in fiscal year 2022
- The domestic apparel market size in Japan recovered to 95% of pre-pandemic levels in 2022
- The kimono industry market size was valued at approximately 240 billion yen in 2022
- Japan's jewelry and watches market is expected to reach 2.8 trillion yen by 2025
- The formal wear market in Japan has seen a contraction of 15% over the last decade due to changing work styles
- Innerwear and sleepwear retail sales in Japan reached approx 1 trillion yen in 2022
- The Japanese bags and luggage market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.5% through 2028
- Japan contributes approximately 6% to the global apparel market revenue
- The eyeglass and eyewear market in Japan is valued at over 400 billion yen annually
- The accessories market (excluding jewelry) in Japan is estimated to be worth 500 billion yen
Interpretation
Clocking in at about US$90 billion in 2023 and projected to exceed US$102 billion by 2027, Japan's fashion industry is quietly resilient, driven by a nearly US$50 billion women's market alongside sizeable men's, children's, footwear, sportswear, jewelry, innerwear, bags and accessories sectors, having recovered to 95 percent of pre-pandemic levels even as formal wear contracts and traditional kimono and luxury watch niches persist, which proves you can tailor a profitable future without dressing for the past.
Supply Chain & Trade
- Fast Retailing (Uniqlo/GU) is the largest apparel company in Japan with sales over 2.7 trillion yen
- Japan imports 97-98% of its apparel, with domestic production falling below 3%
- China accounts for approximately 60% of Japan’s textile and clothing imports
- Vietnam is the second largest supplier of apparel to Japan, holding about 15% import share
- The number of apparel retail stores in Japan decreased from 120,000 in the 90s to under 70,000 in 2020
- Japan's textile exports were valued at approximately US$6.5 billion in 2022
- Toray Industries, a Japanese textile giant, is the world's largest producer of carbon fiber used in performance techwear
- The average lead time for apparel production for the Japanese market is 35 days
- Shimamura Co., Ltd. is the second largest fashion retailer in Japan, focusing on suburban markets
- Japanese denim fabric production is concentrated in Okayama Prefecture, producing over 30% of premium domestic denim
- Employment in the Japanese textile industry dropped by 60% over the last three decades
- Department store apparel sales in Japan have declined by 30% since 2010
- Workman Co., Ltd. saw a 10% growth in revenue by pivoting to "Workman Girl" casual wear stores
- Japan's technical textile market size is projected to reach US$8 billion by 2026
- The wholesale sector of Japanese fashion comprises roughly 15,000 establishments
- Itochu Corporation holds the master license for over 150 fashion brands in the Japanese market
- United Arrows, a major select shop, manages over 200 stores nationwide
- Japan's sneaker production is less than 1% of the market, with almost all supply imported from SE Asia
- Onward Holdings closed 700 stores in 2020-2021 to restructure its supply chain
- 80% of zippers used in Japanese fashion are produced by YKK, a domestic company with global dominance
Interpretation
Japan's fashion industry is a paradox of homegrown dominance and outsourced production: Fast Retailing sits atop the market with over 2.7 trillion yen in sales while Japan imports 97 to 98 percent of its apparel—roughly 60 percent from China and 15 percent from Vietnam—domestic output and employment have plunged, brick and mortar stores fell from 120,000 in the 1990s to under 70,000 and department store apparel sales are down 30 percent, yet the country still exports about US$6.5 billion in textiles, claims niche global leadership in Okayama denim and Toray's carbon fiber for techwear, eyes an $8 billion technical textile market by 2026, keeps a typical 35 day lead time supported by some 15,000 wholesale establishments, concentrates brand power with Itochu and multi-store operators like United Arrows, depends on YKK for 80 percent of zippers, sees clever pivots such as Shimamura's suburban strategy and Workman's 10 percent growth from Workman Girl even as Onward shuttered 700 stores, proving that Japanese fashion now wins on design, technology and distribution rather than mass domestic manufacturing.
References
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