Japan trade deficit halves in 2025 despite fall in U.S.-bound exports

TOKYO - Japan's trade deficit in 2025 shrank 52.9 percent from a year earlier to 2.65 trillion yen ($16.7 billion), with total exports setting a record despite a decline in U.S.-bound shipments for the first time in five years amid higher tariffs, government data showed Thursday.

The country's trade balance remained in the red for the fifth consecutive year, although exports grew 3.1 percent to 110.45 trillion yen, driven by shipments of semiconductors and other electronic parts to the rest of Asia, the Finance Ministry said.