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That left a deficit of 1.15 trillion yen ($7.5 billion), less
than half the trade deficit recorded a year earlier.
Analysts noted that a key reason for the big jump early in the
year was because the Lunar New Year occurs later than usual,
falling on February 17.
Japan's economy depends heavily on exports and dramatic
increases in tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump have taken a
toll.
The economy expanded at an anemic 0.2% annual pace in the last
quarter, with growth for 2025 at just 1.1% as weaker exports
offset a modest increase in private consumption.
Exports to the U.S. fell 0.5% in January, the latest data
showed, while imports from the U.S. rose 3%. Exports to the U.S.
of vehicles, which account for about a third of the total, fell
nearly 10%.
Despite antagonisms with Beijing over comments by Prime Minister
Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, Japan's exports to China jumped 32%
year-on-year in January. Exports to all of Asia were robust,
surging 26%, the data show.
Imports of semiconductors and other computer components showed
the fastest growth, likely reflecting the impact of the boom in
artificial intelligence, which has supercharged demand for data
center equipment and computer chips.
“But the currently strong tailwind from the US AI boom is
unlikely to last, suggesting that gains in exports to Asia
excluding China will moderate,” Norihiro Yamaguchi of Oxford
Economics said in a commentary.
He said exports were “highly likely to moderate next month.”
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