Japan's Trade Deficit Filled by South Korea

Japan Covers Deficit from Overseas Trade through Korea
Last December, Korean Exports Increased by 20.8%, Imports Decreased by 6.5%

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] It has been revealed that Japan recorded a trade surplus last year thanks to "Korean luck."

Japan earned about three times the total surplus amount through trade with Korea compared to its trade with other countries. This means that Korea fully compensated for the deficits Japan incurred in trade with other countries.

According to the trade statistics (preliminary figures) released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance on the 21st, exports in December last year increased by 2.0% compared to the same month the previous year, reaching 6.7062 trillion yen, while imports decreased by 11.6% to 5.9552 trillion yen.

Japan's trade balance in December showed a surplus of 751 billion yen, continuing a six-month streak of surpluses.

Exports turned to an upward trend for the first time in 25 months (2 years and 1 month), but imports continued to decline for the 20th consecutive month.

The Japanese Ministry of Finance analyzed that the increase in exports to China by 10.2%, driven by rising demand ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year (Chunje), led the overall export growth in December last year.

Japan's exports last year totaled 68.4067 trillion yen, down 11.1% from the previous year due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the other hand, imports decreased by 13.8% to 67.732 trillion yen, resulting in an annual trade surplus of 674.7 billion yen (approximately 7.2 trillion won).

This marks the first time in three years that Japan recorded an annual trade surplus.

In particular, trade with Korea in December last year saw exports increase by 20.8% and imports decrease by 6.5%, resulting in a surplus of 221.5 billion yen, which is 85.2% higher than the same month the previous year.

On an annual basis last year, exports to Korea decreased by 5.5% to 4.7662 trillion yen, while imports fell even more sharply by 12.1% to 2.8378 trillion yen.

Thus, Japan recorded a trade surplus approaching 2 trillion yen (approximately 21 trillion won) in trade with Korea over the past year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.