Japan Balance of Trade

Last Release

Mar 31, 2024

Actual

366.47

Units In

JPY Billion

-377.8

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

May 17, 2024

Time to Release

30 Days 8 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
1,608.68 Sep 2007	-3,498.6 Jan 2023	282.7 JPY Billion	1963-2024	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 balance shifted to a surplus of JPY 366,467 billion in March 2024 from a deficit of JPY 750,854 billion in the same period of the prior year. It was the first trade surplus in three months, as exports grew while imports fell. Shipments rose by 7.3% yoy, the fourth straight month of growth, to the largest amount in three months of JPY 9,469.60 billion, amid robust demand from the US and China. Meanwhile, purchases were down 4.9%, the second time of drop this year, to JPY 9,103.13 billion, due to a sharp decline in imports of mineral fuels.