This page describes standards, ports and documentation practice. It is not a claim of shipment history or of volume to this market — our published figures are only the ones we can evidence.
Standards
Which standard the drawing cites
Japanese specifications cite JIS. JIS H4000 covers aluminium and aluminium alloy sheet, strip and plate; JIS H4100 covers extruded shapes. The Japanese standards are well aligned in intent with ASTM and EN but are their own tables, and a Japanese customer reading a JIS table will expect properties reported against it.
Logistics
Ports and transit
Yokohama, Kobe, Osaka and Nagoya handle most containerised imports. Transit from eastern Chinese ports is short, which makes Japan one of the faster routes and reduces the exposure window for transit-related surface issues.
Handling
Packing and service conditions
Short transit helps, but expectations on surface condition, packing neatness and dimensional consistency are among the strictest in any market. Material that would pass without comment elsewhere may be queried here. Budget for the packing specification to be looked at closely, and consider a pre-shipment sample for a first order.
Specification
Grades usually called for
5052 is heavily used in Japanese fabrication and sheet metal work; 6063 for architectural extrusion; 1050 and 1070 for foil and fin stock; 2017 and 2024 in machining stock for precision work; A5052 and A6063 are the JIS-prefixed forms you will see on drawings.
Documentation
Certificates and compliance
Mill certificates tied to the heat are expected, and Japanese customers frequently request inspection records and, where the application justifies it, third-party attendance. Documentation completeness is evaluated as part of supplier assessment, not just as paperwork.
Cost of getting it wrong
Four things that go wrong here
Treating a JIS drawing as satisfiable by an ASTM table without checking the property and tolerance numbers.
Under-specifying packing. Presentation is part of the acceptance criteria here, not an afterthought.
Not sending a pre-shipment sample on a first order, when one would have settled the acceptance standard cheaply.
Incomplete documentation sets, which read as a process weakness rather than an omission.
Send us the drawing
If you tell us which standard the drawing cites, we will say whether the quoted mill works to that table and whether the tolerance can be held — before you commit, not on the inspection report.
Trade measures and marking requirements change. We do not publish rates for that reason — we confirm the current position at quotation.