Japan Balance of Trade

Last Release

Feb 28, 2023

Actual

-897.7

Units In

JPY Billion

-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.