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Japan Balance of Trade
Last Release
Feb 28, 2023
Actual
-897.7
Units In
JPY Billion
Previous
-3,498.6
Frequency
Monthly
Next Release
Apr 19, 2023
Time to Release
27 Days 10 Hours
Highest | Lowest | Average | Date Range | Source |
1,608.68 Sep 2007 | -3,498.6 Jan 2023 | 296.95 JPY Billion | 1963-2023 | 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's trade deficit increased to JPY 897.7 billion in February 2023 from JPY 711.5 billion in the same month a year earlier, compared with market consensus of a gap of JPY 1,069 billion. This was the 19th straight month of a trade shortfall, the longest stretch since 2015, and the largest trade gap for the month of February. Imports rose by 8.3% yoy, the 25th straight month of growth but the slowest pace since March 2021. Meantime, exports grew at a softer of 6.5%, the 24th straight month of rise but the softest rate since a fall in February 2021, to JPY 7,654.7 billion. In 2022, Japan posted a trade deficit of JPY 19,971.3 billion, the second straight annual shortfall and the biggest since 1979, driven by a surge in imports amid high commodity prices and the slump in yen.
Japan Balance of Trade History
Last 12 readings