When discussing Asian investment in Spain, China often dominates the conversation. However, the data presents a different picture. Between 2010 and 2023, Japan was the leading Asian investor in our country, with nearly €9.2 billion, which is 30% more than the investment from Chinese companies during the same period.
Another figure helps to better understand the evolution of this relationship: around €7 billion of that €9.2 billion arrived between 2018 and 2023. Thus, it is not merely a presence accumulated over decades. Japanese investment has gained intensity in recent years.
The report Business Climate Spain-Japan, prepared by the Japan-Spain Business Circle (CEJE), also reflects favorable expectations among companies already familiar with the Spanish market. Ninety percent of the surveyed Japanese companies expect to maintain or increase their investments, and more than 70% anticipate improving their activity in the short term. By the end of 2024, there were nearly 400 Japanese companies with a stable presence in Spain or with stakes in Spanish firms, a number that has grown by more than 70% over the past decade.
Behind these figures is a business relationship that has been evolving. Japanese presence in Spain traditionally had a strong industrial component, with significant investments in sectors such as chemicals and automotive. This profile has not disappeared but has broadened as energy transition and digitalization have changed investment priorities.
Energy, Automotive, and Technology
Energy and renewables today rank among the activities attracting the greatest Japanese investment in Spain, alongside automotive, information technology, and the chemical industry. This overlap is no coincidence. These are sectors where Japanese companies possess technology, industrial experience, and financial capacity, while Spain offers a developed market, good infrastructure, and a relevant position in areas like renewable energy.
Access to the European market is also influential. For a Japanese company, establishing itself in Spain does not merely mean operating within an economy of nearly 50 million inhabitants. It means doing so within the European Union’s single market while simultaneously having a platform with business and cultural ties to Latin America.
The political and trade framework supports this approach. The Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Japan came into effect in 2019 and has reduced barriers to the exchange of goods and services. Between 2018 and 2025, total trade between both economies grew by 23.1%, according to the European Commission. Japan is currently the EU’s second trading partner in Asia, after China.
Spain aims to take advantage of this scenario. The Asia-Pacific Strategy 2026-2029 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs identifies Japan as the main Asian investor in Spain and outlines specific areas to expand business cooperation: renewable energy, green hydrogen, offshore wind, digitalization, telecommunications, and infrastructure.
Trade exchanges also reflect a relationship that has taken on considerable dimension. In 2024, they exceeded €7.8 billion, their highest figure to date. Spain exported approximately €2.85 billion to Japan and imported products worth nearly €4.98 billion. Japan also emerged as the second-largest market for Spanish exports in East Asia, only behind China.
Companies Familiar with Spain that Want to Continue Growing
As significant as the arrival of new investors is the behavior of those already established. The CEJE study indicates that 67% of the executives surveyed viewed the recent evolution of their company in Spain favorably. When the question was directed towards the immediate future, expectations improved.
A survey conducted by JETRO, the Japanese External Trade Organization, pointed in the same direction. Seventy-one point four percent of the surveyed Japanese companies in Spain expected to expand their operations in the next year or two, compared to 46.2% recorded across Europe. The Spanish sample consisted of 21 companies and advises caution in interpreting the percentage, but the result reinforces the positive perception noted in other studies.
Japanese companies value factors that do not always appear in large investment figures: the availability of skilled professionals, infrastructure, stability, and opportunities to develop businesses with a long-term perspective. The latter element is particularly relevant in a business culture where implantation decisions often require time but also tend to seek lasting relationships once the project is established.
In Spain, Japanese multinationals of very different profiles operate. NTT Data maintains significant technological activity; Fujitsu has been present in the market for decades; industrial and automotive companies have developed…
