TOKYO: Japan logged a $1.82 billion trade deficit in June, reversing a small year-earlier surplus and marking the longest string of monthly shortfalls in more than three decades, official data showed Wednesday.
The deficit of 180.8 billion yen came as import costs outpaced gains in exports to key markets in the US, China and Europe, according to the finance ministry figures.
Japan's import costs surged in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis when it shut down its atomic reactors and turned to pricey fossil-fuel alternatives.
For the month, imports climbed 11.8 percent as a weaker yen made incoming shipments more expensive.
That extended the country's string of monthly deficits to the longest run since a 14-month streak that ended in August 1980.
Exports meanwhile climbed 7.4 percent to 6.06 trillion yen, growing for the fourth straight month as weak demand in Europe picked up and the value of car shipments to the United States rose. (AFP)
