Japan Balance of Trade

Japan reported a trade deficit equivalent to 1475 Million JPY in January of 2012. Exports have been the main engine of Japan's economic growth in the past six years. Japan imports raw materials and processes them into high technology products. Japan’s major exports are: consumer electronics, automobiles, semiconductors, optical fibers, optoelectronics, optical media, facsimile and copy machines. Its main trading partners are The United States, China and European Union. This page includes: Japan Balance of Trade chart, historical data and news.

Date Selection	Members Only. Please Register or Login
to

Japan’s Trade Deficit Widens in January
Published on 2/20/2012 10:53:57 AM | By TradingEconomics.com, Ministry of Finance Japan

Japan’s trade deficit widened to a record level in January, as falling exports combined with surging imports of energy.

Imports rose 9.8 per cent from a year earlier, while exports were down 9.3 per cent, resulting in a record monthly deficit of Y1.48tn ($19bn).

Last year Japan’s trade balance fell into an annual deficit for the first time since 1980, driven by subdued global demand and soaring fossil fuel imports in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear power crisis.

The timing of the new year holiday in China, which this year fell in January rather than February, also affected the year-on-year comparison. Japan’s exports to China fell by a fifth, while imports increased by 8 per cent, almost doubling the trade deficit with China to Y588bn. China is easily Japan’s biggest export market, accounting for 21 per cent of total shipments in January.

Import data underlined Japan’s rising dependence on imports of coal and liquefied natural gas, to substitute for nuclear plants idled after the Fukushima crisis. Mineral fuel imports increased 24 per cent year on year, accounting for three-quarters of the overall rise in the value of imports.

Japan News

Japan’s Trade Deficit Widens in January
Published: 2/20/2012 10:53:57 AM By: TradingEconomics.com, Ministry of Finance Japan
Japan’s trade deficit widened to a record level in January, as falling exports combined with surging imports of energy.

Bank of Japan Announces New Stimulus
Published: 2/14/2012 11:38:02 AM By: TradingEconomics.com, Bank of Japan
The Bank of Japan on February 14th further eased monetary policy, increasing its asset purchase programme by 10 trillion yen to about 65 trillion yen, as it looks to end deflation.

Japan GDP Contracts 0.6% in Q4
Published: 2/13/2012 11:08:06 AM By: TradingEconomics.com, Cabinet Office
Japan's economy shrank 0.6 percent in the October-December quarter compared with the previous three months as slowing global trade, a strong currency and disruption from severe floods in Thailand all took their toll.

Japan Annaual Inflation Rate Down 0.2% in December
Published: 1/27/2012 6:03:21 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
The consumer price index for Japan in December 2011 was 99.4(2010=100), the same level as the previous month, and down 0.2% over the year.

Japan Exports Fall in December
Published: 1/25/2012 9:40:45 AM By: TradingEconomics.com, Ministry of Finance Japan
Japan's exports fell for the third consecutive month in December, capping the first annual trade deficit in 31 years, figures underscoring the toll slower global growth and March's earthquake have taken on the economy.

Bank of Canada Keeps Monetary Policy Unchanged
Published: 1/24/2012 9:05:05 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, Bank of Japan
At the Monetary Policy Meeting held on January 24, the Policy Board of the Bank of Japan decided,by a unanimous vote to encourage the uncollateralized overnight call rate to remain at around 0 to 0.1 percent.

Japan Annaual Inflation Rate Down 0.5% in November
Published: 12/30/2011 7:03:10 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
The consumer price index for Japan in November 2011 was 99.4(2010=100), down 0.6% from the previous month, and down 0.5% over the year.

Japan's Unemployment Rate Unchanged in November
Published: 12/30/2011 7:00:49 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
Japan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in November was unchanged at 4.5 percent from the previous month, signaling that the pace of recovery in labor market conditions is moderating.

Japan Holds Rates Near Zero
Published: 12/21/2011 3:07:30 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, Bank of Japan
Japan's central bank has left its key interest rate unchanged at virtually zero as it downgraded its assessment of the economy.

Japan Reports Trade Deficit in November
Published: 12/21/2011 2:58:21 PM By: TradingEconomics.com, Ministry of Finance Japan
Japan reported a 684.7 billion yen in trade deficit in November, as exports continued to decline amid the impact of the mass flooding in Thailand and fears of a global economic downturn.

More news

Balance of Trade Definition

The balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time. A positive balance of trade is known as a trade surplus and consists of exporting more than is imported; a negative balance of trade is known as a trade deficit or, informally, a trade gap.

The balance of trade forms part of the current account, which also includes other transactions such as income from the international investment position as well as international aid. If the current account is in surplus, the country's net international asset position increases correspondingly. Equally, a deficit decreases the net international asset position.

The Balance of Trade is identical to the difference between a country's output and its domestic demand - the difference between what goods a country produces and how many goods it buys from abroad; this does not include money respent on foreign stocks, nor does it factor the concept of importing goods to produce for the domestic market (source: wikipedia).