Japan posted a 406.9 billion yen trade deficit in June, versus a 122 billion yen surplus a year earlier.
Why it matters: The data show how a weaker yen can raise import costs for businesses and consumers. They also feed expectations for the Bank of Japan, which is watching whether export strength can offset currency-driven inflation pressure.
- Japan posted a 406.9 billion yen trade deficit in June 2025, reversing a 122 billion yen surplus a year earlier.
- Exports rose 19% year over year to 10.9 trillion yen, while imports climbed 25% to 11.3 trillion yen.
- Reuters said exports rose for a 10th straight month, helped by weak-yen effects and AI-related demand.
- The Ministry of Finance and Japan Customs published the June trade statistics on July 22.
Japan's June trade data showed both exports and imports rising, but imports grew faster and pushed the country back into deficit. AP reported a 406.9 billion yen shortfall, compared with a 122 billion yen surplus a year earlier.
Official figures from the Ministry of Finance and Japan Customs show exports rose 19% to 10.9 trillion yen and imports increased 25% to 11.3 trillion yen in June. The government release was posted on July 22 on the customs statistics page here.
Reuters reported that exports rose for a 10th straight month, with weak-yen effects supporting the yen value of shipments and AI-related demand adding to export strength in some categories. That matters because a weaker currency can lift both export and import values in yen terms, even when underlying volumes do not move at the same pace.
The yen traded around 163 per dollar in the AP report, versus roughly 140 a year earlier. That currency shift helps explain why import bills can swell even when external demand is still firm.
For the first half of 2025, exports rose nearly 14% to 60.6 trillion yen and imports rose nearly 11% to 61.9 trillion yen, leaving Japan with a narrower but still negative trade balance.
By the numbers
- 406.9 billion yen - Japan's June 2025 trade deficit
- 19% - Year-over-year increase in exports in June
- 25% - Year-over-year increase in imports in June
Yes, but: The wider deficit does not mean exports weakened outright - exports still rose 19% - but import growth was faster, and the weaker yen amplified the yen value of purchases.