The negative balance is 5.5 times larger than recorded this past April, but approximately half (48%) of what was registered in May 2024 (1.225 trillion yen, 7.3 billion euros), according to data released by the Ministry of Finance.
Japanese exports fell 1.7% year-on-year in the fifth month of the year, totaling 8.13 trillion yen (48.72 billion euros), while imports dropped 7.7%, amounting to 8.77 trillion yen (52.54 billion euros).
By country, Japan recorded a deficit of 624.866 billion yen (3.74 billion euros) with China, its largest trading partner, marking an increase of 17.2% compared to the previous year.
With the world’s largest economy and its second-largest trading partner, the United States, the Asian country posted a surplus of 451.701 billion yen (2.705 billion euros), down 4.7% from the prior year.
With the European Union, its third-largest trading partner, Japan recorded a negative balance of 308.904 billion yen (1.850 billion euros), a rise of 14.2% compared to the same month in 2024.
Japan reduced its deficit with Brazil by 27.8% year-on-year to 49.951 billion yen (300 million euros), while the negative balance with Chile decreased by 13.1% to 95.972 billion yen (575 million euros).
Japan achieved a trade surplus with Mexico of 48.961 million yen (293 million euros), although the figure is 20.2% lower than the previous year.
