Japan Balance of Trade

Last Release

Mar 31, 2025

Actual

544.1

Units In

JPY Billion

590.5

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

May 20, 2025

Time to Release

1 Months 1 Days 14 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
1,608.68 Sep 2007	-3,498.6 Jan 2023	271.3 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’s trade surplus increased to JPY 544.1 billion in March 2025 from JPY 349.9 billion in the same month a year earlier, beating market expectations of JPY 485.3 billion, as export growth outpaced imports. Exports rose 3.9% year-on-year to a three-month high of JPY 9,847.8 billion, marking the sixth consecutive month of expansion, though slightly below the forecast of 4.5%. Meanwhile, imports rose at a slower 2% to JPY 9,303.8 billion, rebounding from a 0.7% decline in February but falling short of the projected 3.1% rise.