By last year, with sanctions elsewhere tightening, Russia was buying more than a quarter of Japan's used-car exports for an average price of almost $8,200.
That was more than double the price in 2020, when Russia took about 15% of Japan's used-car exports.
Those sales had been on track to top $1.9 billion for all of 2023 before Japan imposed its own tougher sanctions, trade data show.
A system of mandatory inspections pushes the cost of maintaining used cars higher for customers in Japan.
Battery recycling firm 4R Energy has seen a "significant" tailwind from declining used-car prices, including the Nissan Leaf, said chief executive Yutaka Horie.
Persons:
Sergei Karpukhin, Japan's, we've, Olesya Alekseeva, Takanori Kikuchi, Wataru Nishiwaki, Yutaka Horie, Daniel Leussink, Gleb Stolyarov, Kevin Krolicki, Sonali Paul
Organizations:
Toyota, REUTERS, Rights, SV Alliance, Japan's Ministry, Economy, Trade, Industry, Honda, Energy, Nissan, Sumitomo, Thomson
Locations:
Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Africa, Toyama, Russia's Vladivostok, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Niigata prefecture