Japanese used vehicle exporting

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Japanese used vehicle exporting is a grey market international trade involving the export of used cars and other vehicles from Japan to other markets around the world since the 1980s.

Despite the high cost of transport, the sale of used cars and other vehicles to other countries is still profitable due to the relatively low cost and good condition of the vehicles being purchased. Contributing factors to the feasibility of such export include Japan's strict motor-vehicle inspections and high depreciation which make such vehicles worth very little in Japan after six years. Japan has strict environmental protection regulations that make vehicle disposal very expensive, as well as stringent vehicle emission test standards^[1] that increase the costs of owning a used vehicle.

Nearly 1.4 million used vehicles were exported from Japan in 2006.^{[citation needed]} The most popular destinations for used cars from Japan are Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Dominica, Eswatini, Georgia, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Laos, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Kingdom, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Additionally, Chile, South Africa, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates are used as popular transit hubs.^{[citation needed]}