Japan¡¯s move to bar most used-car sales to Russia has slammed the brakes on a trade nearing $2 billion (?299 billion) annually that had boomed in the shadow of sanctions over Ukraine elsewhere, according to trade data and market participants.
In early August, Japan¡¯s government banned exports of all but subcompact cars to Russia, cutting off a lucrative back channel in trade in used Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans for a network of brokers and smaller ports, especially Fushiki, an export hub in Toyama Prefecture on the Sea of Japan.
While wiping out Russia¡¯s biggest source of used cars, the sanctions have driven down prices for secondhand cars in Japan and left brokers scrambling to send vehicles to other regions, especially right-hand drive markets in New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Africa.
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