Japan Balance of Trade

Last Release

Aug 31, 2025

Actual

-242.53

Units In

JPY Billion

-118.4

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Oct 21, 2025

Time to Release

1 Months 2 Days 15 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
1,608.68 Sep 2007	-3,498.6 Jan 2023	268.24 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 deficit decreased significantly to JPY 242.5 billion in August 2025 from JPY 711.4 billion in the same month a year earlier, well below market expectations of JPY 513.6 billion, mainly due to a steep drop in imports. Purchases shrank 5.2% year-on-year to the lowest amount in six months of JPY 8,667.7 billion, marking the second consecutive monthly decline. The fall exceeded market expectations for a 4.2% contraction, underscoring sluggish domestic demand and persistently high input costs—despite Tokyo’s efforts to stimulate consumption and ease energy prices. Meanwhile, exports slipped 0.1%, their fourth consecutive fall but the mildest in the streak, beating estimates of a 1.9% contraction and showing some resilience despite persistent headwinds from broad U.S. tariffs.