Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Japan

Japan: Tonne-kilometers of air freight was 8.47 billion million ton-km in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
8.47 billion million ton-km
Change on year
down 12.5%
World rank
8th
of 180 countries
All-time high
10.95 billion million ton-km
in 2021
All-time low
379.60 million million ton-km
in 1970
Years of data
54
1970–2023

Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Japan, 1970–2023

02.5B5.0B7.5B10.0B197019962023

Source: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in million ton-km.

Analysis

In 2023, tonne-kilometers of air freight in Japan stood at 8.47 billion million ton-km.

The figure is down 12.5% on the previous year and up 9.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, tonne-kilometers of air freight in Japan peaked at 10.95 billion million ton-km in 2021 and was at its lowest, 379.60 million million ton-km, in 1970.

Japan ranks 8th of 180 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 893.34 million million ton-km 379.60 million million ton-km 1.62 billion million ton-km 10
1980s 3.24 billion million ton-km 1.87 billion million ton-km 5.13 billion million ton-km 10
1990s 6.36 billion million ton-km 5.07 billion million ton-km 8.23 billion million ton-km 10
2000s 8.56 billion million ton-km 7.61 billion million ton-km 10.49 billion million ton-km 10
2010s 8.47 billion million ton-km 6.55 billion million ton-km 10.68 billion million ton-km 10
2020s 9.24 billion million ton-km 7.84 billion million ton-km 10.95 billion million ton-km 4

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 5 Germany 12.77 billion million ton-km compare
  2. 6 South Korea 12.29 billion million ton-km compare
  3. 7 Hong Kong 8.64 billion million ton-km compare
  4. 9 Turkey 8.37 billion million ton-km compare
  5. 10 Singapore 7.60 billion million ton-km compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is tonne-kilometers of air freight in Japan?
Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Japan was 8.47 billion million ton-km in 2023, according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest tonne-kilometers of air freight recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 10.95 billion million ton-km in 2021.
What is the lowest tonne-kilometers of air freight recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 379.60 million million ton-km in 1970.
How does Japan rank for tonne-kilometers of air freight?
Japan ranks 8th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
Is tonne-kilometers of air freight rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is up 9.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Tonne-kilometers of air freight. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Tonne-kilometers of air freight
Unit
million ton-km
Source
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
180 places, 7,506 data points, 1970–2023
Last refreshed

Air freight is the volume of freight, express, and diplomatic bags carried on each flight stage (operation of an aircraft from takeoff to its next landing), measured in metric tonnes times kilometers traveled.