Japan Balance of Trade

Last Release

Sep 30, 2025

Actual

-234.62

Units In

JPY Billion

-242.8

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Nov 18, 2025

Time to Release

27 Days 2 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
1,608.68 Sep 2007	-3,498.6 Jan 2023	267.57 JPY Billion	1963-2025	N/A

Between 1980 and 2010 Japan had been recording trade surpluses every year due to rising exports. However, the trade balance swung to deficit in 2011, as the Fukushima nuclear disaster forced the country to increase its purchases of fossil fuels and gas in the wake of weaker yen. The surplus was back in 2016 and 2017, but in 2018 and 2019 Japan's trade balance shifted back into deficit amid persistent trade tensions between the US and China, and sluggish global growth. In 2019, Japan reported the biggest trade surpluses with the US, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and the Netherlands. The biggest trade deficits were recorded with China, Australia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.

Latest Updates

Japan recorded a trade deficit of JPY 234.6 billion in September 2025, narrowing from JPY 306.1 billion a year earlier but missing market expectations for a surplus of JPY 22 billion. Exports rose 4.2% year-on-year to JPY 9,413.7 billion, the first increase since April and the fastest growth since February, supported by a weaker yen and a new U.S. trade deal easing tariffs on Japanese goods. Meanwhile, imports increased 3.3% to an eight-month high of JPY 9,648.3 billion, the first gain in three months and well above the expected 0.6% rise. This represented the strongest pace of purchases since January, driven by Tokyo’s measures to stimulate consumption, including fuel subsidies and utility rebates.