Japan Racks up Trade Deficit Amid Threat From Trump's Tariffs
Imports in June rose 0.2 percent to 9 trillion yen ($61 billion), the Finance Ministry said. That left a trade surplus of 153 billion yen (just over $1 billion). The trade deficit in May was 637.6 billion yen or $4.4 billion.
Japan's exports to the United States fell 11 percent in June, with auto exports plunging 25 percent. Shipments to China decreased by nearly 5 percent. Exports to Mexico, a major auto assembly hub for North America for Japanese automakers, fell nearly 20 percent.
In the first half of the year, Japan's exports totaled 53.4 trillion yen ($360 billion), up 3.6 percent, while imports rose 1.3 percent to 55.6 trillion yen ($375 billion). Japan and the US have been holding trade talks, with Japanese officials stressing that Japan is a key US ally. Trump has focused on rice, a sector traditionally protected from foreign competition for the sake of Japan's food security. Japan imports more than 300,000 tons of rice a year from the US, according to various data, although some of that is used for animal feed.
Japan will hold an election for the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday. Given falling public support for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's administration, the conservative and pro-business ruling Liberal Democratic Party could lose its majority unless it gains another coalition partner. Japan's economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter, partly due to slowing exports.
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