Japan records 36.6 bln USD trade deficit in FY2024

TOKYO: Japan posted some 5.23 trillion yen (36.6 billion U.S. dollars) trade deficit in fiscal 2024, remaining in the red for the fourth consecutive year, government data showed Thursday.

In the fiscal year ending in March, total value of exports rose 5.9 percent to 108.93 trillion yen, rising for the fourth consecutive year and marking the highest level since comparable statistics were first compiled in 1979.

The value of imports, meanwhile, grew 4.7 percent from a year earlier to 114.16 trillion yen, up for the first time in two years, driven by personal computers from the United States and smartphones from China, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

By country or region, Japan logged a trade deficit with China of 7.05 trillion yen, up 18.7 percent from a year before.

Exports increased 3.4 percent to a record 18.89 trillion yen while imports expanded 7.1 percent to a record 25.94 trillion yen.

Japan’s trade surplus with the United States fell 1.3 percent to 9.01 trillion yen. Exports to the country gained 3.8 percent from the previous year to 21.65 trillion yen and imports from it also increased 7.7 percent to 12.64 trillion yen, with both figures hitting record highs.

Japan remained in the red for the 13th consecutive year in trade with the European Union, reporting a deficit of 2.53 trillion yen. (1 U.S. dollar equals 142.62 Japanese yen)

-Xinhua