Does Japan Limit Its Imports for Comparative Advantage Reasons?-The Case of Agricultural Manufactures

Abstract

Using yearly trade data from 1976 to 2015, this study explores the Japanese import trade patterns. Specifically, we develop an approach to identifying the government interference in trade. The empirical results show that Japan has comparative disadvantage and trade deficits in its agricultural manufactures, but there is no evidence that Japan attempts to improve the comparative advantage by import limitation.