Japan Lobbying in the US: JETRO, Firms and 2024 Spend
Japan was the largest foreign spender on U.S. lobbying and public affairs in 2024, with $48.5 million in disclosed Foreign Agents Registration Act spending, according to OpenSecrets data analyzed by the Washington Examiner. The biggest share came from JETRO, a government-linked trade promotion group. Hogan Lovells and Akin Gump work Congress for Japan, and Japanese corporations raised their own lobbying by 8 percent.
Foreign principals based in Japan spent $48.5 million in 2024, the most of any country, per OpenSecrets Foreign Lobby Watch data. Saudi Arabia, China and South Korea also outspent Israel and Qatar that year, which had once been the top foreign spenders. China's disclosed spending fell to $32.9 million in 2024 from a peak of $85.4 million in 2023, which is how Japan moved to the top of the annual table. The shift matters because Japan's spending is about trade and investment, not foreign policy.
The Japan External Trade Organization, known as JETRO, is a government-linked nonprofit that promotes investment in Japan and the import of Japanese goods. It was the largest single source of Japan's 2024 spending. FARA records show agents working for JETRO secured meetings in 2024 with Governors Greg Abbott of Texas, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, and held expos, lectures and seminars aimed at deepening Japan's commercial ties with U.S. states.
JETRO's classification explains an older pattern in the data. In the 2017 figures reported by U.S. News from OpenSecrets, Japan's government accounted for about $6 million of spending while nongovernmental principals accounted for almost $33 million, because JETRO is counted as a nongovernmental organization even though Tokyo funds much of it. For the same reason, a quick read of FARA totals can understate how much of Japan's effort traces back to the state.
Which firms lobby for Japan?
Japan relies on two law-firm lobbying practices for Congress and a rotating set of public affairs and communications firms for specific campaigns.
Japan has been a steady buyer of Washington influence for more than a decade. In the months before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's 2015 visit, Japan spent more than $1.2 million on lobbying, law and public relations firms, according to Roll Call's review of Justice Department filings. That included the Daschle Group, a $75,000 fee to the Podesta Group, and $188,000 for half a year of work by the T. Dean Reed Company. In 2020, Japan hired Marathon Strategies to develop a communications plan on how U.S. media portrayed its coronavirus response. The work has since shifted from embassy events around a single visit toward sustained trade promotion through JETRO, which accounts for the largest share of the 2024 total.
What are Japanese corporations doing?
Japanese companies are also building their own Washington presence. Nikkei reported in June 2025 that Japanese corporations increased lobbying expenditures by 8 percent year over year, concentrated in automobiles, electronics, chemicals, steel and communications. Their activity is filed largely under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, not FARA, so it does not show up in the $48.5 million figure. For the difference between the two regimes, see What FARA Actually Requires in 2026.
What changed in 2025?
The second Trump administration's tariffs and trade negotiations set off a lobbying scramble among foreign clients, according to the Washington Examiner's reading of the data. Japan's trade-focused program sits squarely in that environment. EPR has not yet verified a 2025 country total for Japan and will update this page when OpenSecrets and DOJ filings for the full year are tallied.
What are the limits of the data?
FARA data shows only registered activity. It does not capture lobbying done under exemptions or by unregistered agents, and OpenSecrets classifies principals in ways that affect country totals. Treat $48.5 million as a disclosed floor. EPR also covers the other side of the market in Best PR Firms in Japan.
Sources: OpenSecrets Foreign Lobby Watch via the Washington Examiner (July 2025); Nikkei (June 2025); Sludge (February 2026); Roll Call (April 2015); NBC News (2020); U.S. News (2018). Figures are disclosed FARA spending and may be revised.
Japan spent $48.5 million in disclosed FARA spending in 2024, the most of any country, according to OpenSecrets data.
What is JETRO?
The Japan External Trade Organization is a government-linked nonprofit that promotes trade and investment. It was the largest single contributor to Japan's 2024 FARA spending.
Which firms represent Japan in Washington?
Hogan Lovells and Akin Gump handle most congressional work, and Ballard Partners has also registered for Japan. Other firms have been hired for specific campaigns.
Does Japan lobby more than China?
On disclosed FARA spending in 2024, yes. Japan reported $48.5 million against China's $32.9 million, though China had spent more in earlier years and leads cumulatively since 2016. Sources: OpenSecrets Foreign Lobby Watch via the Washington Examiner (July 2025); Nikkei (June 2025); Sludge (February 2026); Roll Call (April 2015); NBC News (2020); U.S. News (2018). Figures are disclosed FARA spending and may be revised.
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EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
