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Japan also had a trade deficit, which measures the value of
exports minus imports, a year ago, but the amount rose 60% last
month from January 2024.
Exports totaled 7.86 trillion yen ($52 billion) last month, up
7% on-year, rising in a variety of products including machinery,
medical goods and ships.
Imports, totaling 10.62 trillion yen ($70 billion), rose 16.7%
from the same month last year. Imports grew in machinery,
computers and various foodstuffs including fruit, as demand grew
while the yen weakened against foreign currencies.
Consumption in Japan is expected to remain relatively solid,
partly because of recent wage growth.
Japan recorded a nearly 477 billion yen ($3 billion) trade
surplus with the U.S. as exports rose 8% in items such as
electrical equipment, cars and raw materials.
Japan is asking the U.S. to exclude it from Trump’s so-called
“reciprocal tariffs,” as well as those on steel and aluminum.
Uncertainty remains as the U.S. has long been one of Japan’s
most important trading partners.
The growth in both Japanese imports and exports follows a
government report earlier in the week that the economy grew
faster than expected in the October-December quarter.
“Japanese trade data suggest a modest economic recovery underway
in the current quarter. But the jump in exports comes with big
caveats, particularly the specter of U.S. tariffs, that cloud
the outlook,” said Min Joo Kang, senior economist at ING.
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