Abstract: In the context the global value chains, Japan is undoubtedly an important beneficiary of the global value chains. Therefore, a thorough examination of the mode and status of Japan’s manufacturing participation in the global value chain can provide reliable empirical support for China’s participation in GVCd. In this paper, the added value of trade is based on the perspective of constructing GVC participation and GVC status index using the OECD database.We analyse the manufacturing industry of Japan in GVC degree, mode and the position. The results show that: (1) In terms of degree, the process of integration into the GVC has been accelerated. (2) In terms of mode, the Japanese manufacturing industry is mainly embedded in GVC by means of forward participation mode, and its GVC forward participation rate is much higher than the latter. (3)In terms of position, Japan has been in the upper position of GVC.However, with regard to the changing trend, its GVC position index showed a downward trend, which means that its GVC position is declining, in which the medium technology is the most obvious, followed by low and high technology.

Key words: value added trade, global value chain, GVC participation rate , GVC status index