Trade
Trade balance (exports & imports)
Japan’s monthly merchandise exports and imports, and the balance between them, from customs records.
What this shows
This page shows the value of goods Japan exports and imports each month, recorded as shipments clear customs, along with the trade balance — exports minus imports. A positive balance is a trade surplus; a negative balance is a trade deficit. The figures come from the Ministry of Finance’s Trade Statistics, compiled by Japan Customs.
Two points matter when reading these numbers. First, they measure value in yen, not the physical quantity of goods, so a weaker yen can raise the recorded value even when the volume shipped is unchanged. Second, the figures are not seasonally adjusted, so they follow a regular within-year pattern; comparing a month with the same month a year earlier removes most of that seasonal effect. Early figures are provisional and revised later.
How to read it: Exports and imports are in trillions of yen; the balance line is the gap between them. When the balance is above zero, Japan ran a surplus that month; below zero, a deficit.
Terms on this page
- Trade balance
- The trade balance is the value of goods a country sells abroad (exports) minus the value of goods it buys from abroad (imports) in a given period. A positive balance is a trade surplus; a negative balance is a trade deficit. Japan’s figures here cover merchandise (goods) recorded at customs, and exclude services.
- Trade value (yen basis)
- Trade statistics here are measured as the value in yen of goods crossing the border, not the number of units or their weight. Because of this, a change in the exchange rate moves the recorded value: when the yen weakens, the same quantity of imports costs more yen, and export values rise too. Japan Customs also publishes separate price and volume indices for those who want to separate the two effects.