Industrial water withdrawal in Japan
Japan: Industrial water withdrawal was 9.80 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
9.80 billion cubic meters
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
10th
of 180 countries
All-time high
16.50 billion cubic meters
in 1980
All-time low
9.80 billion cubic meters
in 2022
Years of data
44
1980–2023
Industrial water withdrawal in Japan, 1980–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
In 2023, industrial water withdrawal in Japan stood at 9.80 billion cubic meters. That is the lowest value across all 44 years on record.
The figure is down 13.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, industrial water withdrawal in Japan peaked at 16.50 billion cubic meters in 1980 and was at its lowest, 9.80 billion cubic meters, in 2022.
That places Japan 10th out of 180 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Industrial water withdrawal in Japan, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 16.50 billion cubic meters | — |
| 1981 | 16.44 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1982 | 16.38 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1983 | 16.32 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1984 | 16.27 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 16.21 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 16.15 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1987 | 16.09 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1988 | 16.03 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1989 | 15.97 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1990 | 15.92 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1991 | 15.86 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 15.80 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 15.20 billion cubic meters | -3.8% |
| 1994 | 14.61 billion cubic meters | -3.9% |
| 1995 | 14.01 billion cubic meters | -4.1% |
| 1996 | 14.37 billion cubic meters | +2.6% |
| 1997 | 14.73 billion cubic meters | +2.5% |
| 1998 | 15.08 billion cubic meters | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 15.44 billion cubic meters | +2.4% |
| 2000 | 15.80 billion cubic meters | +2.3% |
| 2001 | 14.06 billion cubic meters | -11.0% |
| 2002 | 12.32 billion cubic meters | -12.4% |
| 2003 | 12.41 billion cubic meters | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 12.50 billion cubic meters | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 12.60 billion cubic meters | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 12.69 billion cubic meters | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 12.78 billion cubic meters | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 12.20 billion cubic meters | -4.6% |
| 2009 | 11.61 billion cubic meters | -4.8% |
| 2010 | 11.55 billion cubic meters | -0.5% |
| 2011 | 11.49 billion cubic meters | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 11.43 billion cubic meters | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 11.38 billion cubic meters | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 11.32 billion cubic meters | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 11.26 billion cubic meters | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 11.20 billion cubic meters | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 11.00 billion cubic meters | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 10.60 billion cubic meters | -3.6% |
| 2019 | 10.30 billion cubic meters | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 13.00 billion cubic meters | +26.2% |
| 2021 | 10.00 billion cubic meters | -23.1% |
| 2022 | 9.80 billion cubic meters | -2.0% |
| 2023 | 9.80 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 9.80 billion cubic meters is above the median for high income countries, which is 668.45 million cubic meters, 14.7× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Japan's 9.80 billion cubic meters is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.18 billion cubic meters, 8.3× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Industrial water withdrawal in Japan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +26.2% | 10.30 billion cubic meters | 13.00 billion cubic meters |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 16.24 billion cubic meters | 15.97 billion cubic meters | 16.50 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.10 billion cubic meters | 14.01 billion cubic meters | 15.92 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 12.90 billion cubic meters | 11.61 billion cubic meters | 15.80 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.15 billion cubic meters | 10.30 billion cubic meters | 11.55 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.65 billion cubic meters | 9.80 billion cubic meters | 13.00 billion cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More environment data for Japan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.8 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.358 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.86 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.9466 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) -1.4 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is industrial water withdrawal in Japan?
- Industrial water withdrawal in Japan was 9.80 billion cubic meters in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest industrial water withdrawal recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 16.50 billion cubic meters in 1980.
- What is the lowest industrial water withdrawal recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.80 billion cubic meters in 2022.
- How does Japan rank for industrial water withdrawal?
- Japan ranks 10th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is industrial water withdrawal rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Industrial water withdrawal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year by self-supplied industries.