Japan posts Y777.5 bil trade deficit in February

Whoa. Not-so-lucky 7s

They keep blaming fossil fuel costs, but it is more to do with the lack of exports than imports. Japan has very successfully peed-off its largest trading partner (China) and now they are paying the penalty with huge drops in the demand for Japanese products. These blockheads will never learn! Japan needs strong economic partnerships with the other large global economies or the economy will continue to spiral into oblivion. Japan's biggest resource is its workforce and that declining yearly. They need to increase exports substantially.

Disillusioned, it's because of fuel imports. It isn't make or break for Japan because China, which is a third-world nation and receives foreign aide from Japan, is in a scrappy mood. Turn on the nuke plants and viola, instant trade surplus.

Also, I've been to Japan, went in 2011 as a medical tourist, it's not going anywhere . All you drama queens need to grow up.

any surplus formula? yes, it's readily available, join TPP and bring tap water like money supply from BOJ ! Dream On !

They keep blaming fossil fuel costs, but it is more to do with the lack of exports than imports. Japan has very successfully peed-off its largest trading partner (China) and now they are paying the penalty with huge drops in the demand for Japanese products.

Really? Abe devalues the yen against the $$ which is used to purchase oil and you blame exports? Go figure huh?

Abe is shooting himself in the foot at a time when Japan needs a weaker yen to purchase oil to run the power companies needed to keep production going. Unless the nuclear reactors are started back up this deficit is going to continue until other sources of energy are brought on line.

nuclear power used to contribute 30% .. so 30% more fuel costs. I wonder what will happen, when all the fuel and resource hedging wears off in the coming 12-24 months..

for all you no nuke dreamers expect these deficits to grow while there are no nuclear power stations running, this will average out to around $100billion deficit for the year. only way in the get it back into the black is to turn on the power stations and reduce the energy imports. please dont give me the renewables dribble, that tech is still 20-30years away before it can handle base load power supplys!

so 30% more fuel costs.

Actually it's more than that because of the devaluation of the yen, it was 30% when the rate was hovering around 75 yen to the $, but now it's at 94 or 95 yen to the $$ increasing costs even more.

Abe is shooting himself in the foot at a time when Japan needs a weaker yen to purchase oil to run the power companies needed to keep production going.

Yubaru, I think you meant "strong yen". The stronger the yen, the easier it is to buy oil and gas on the international market.

Exports to China in February dropped 15.8%, partly due to the territorial spat and also the effect of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.

Shipments to Europe, a key market for Japanese products, tumbled 9.6 percent, while exports to the US market climbed 5.7 percent from a year earlier.

I hope all you folks who say Japan doesn't need the TPP are reading this and can put aside your anti-U.S. sentiments for the good of Japan. Tade with China will always be precarious due to the nature of the political relationship between the countries. Europe is struggling to avoid an economic meltdown. Only the U.S. can be Japan's reliable trade partner -- strong enough to lift Japan's all-important exports. Facts don't lie.

The 777.5 billion yen deficit in February reversed a surplus of 25.9 billion yen in the same month a year earlier, finance ministry data showed.

To all those who claim the trade deficit is due to energy imports. In February 2012 only 2 reactors were left online and Japan still posted a trade surplus. What has changed since then are drops in exports and the decrease of the value of the Yen. Energy imports have changed only marginally over that period, except that they became more expensive - just like any other imports.

@Disillusioned

Do you have any links to information showing the change over year to Japan's exports to China and other countries (by country)?