Japan Enjoys 667-B.-Yen Trade Surplus in March

Tokyo, April 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan logged a trade surplus of 667 billion yen in March, up a sharp 25.9 pct from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report Wednesday. The country saw a positive goods trade balance for the second month, with exports growing 11.7 pct to a record 11,003.3 billion yen and imports increasing 10.9 pct to 10,336.3 billion yen. The ministry also reported that the trade balance for fiscal 2025 that ended last month was in the red by 1,714.5 billion yen, recording a deficit for five years in a row. But the red figure shrank 68.4 pct from the year before. March’s brisk exports were led by demand from Asian partners, particularly for semiconductors and refined copper. Exports to China increased 17.7 pct to an all-time high of 1,958.3 billion yen. Exports to the United States expanded 3.4 pct to 1,940.5 billion yen after falling for three months while those to the Middle East plunged 45.9 pct to 225.7 billion yen due chiefly to a drop of nearly 40 pct in vehicle exports. Meanwhile, the reporting month’s import increase can largely be attributed to stronger appetites for communications devices such as smartphones and for platinum. Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, crude oil imports decreased 7.3 pct in value. But they went up 2.4 pct in quantity probably because the data reflected shipments from the region before Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, according to the report and people familiar with the matter. “We are closely monitoring oil import volume and procurement conditions on alternative shipping routes such as the Red Sea,” a ministry official said. In fiscal 2025, goods exports climbed 4.0 pct to 113,242.3 billion yen while imports ticked up 0.5 pct to 114,956.8 billion yen. Japan’s trade surplus with the United States narrowed 22.1 pct, with its overall exports falling 6.6 pct to 20,209.1 billion yen amid President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign, which led Japanese vehicle exports to drop 15.9 pct in value and 2.5 pct in volume. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]