Japan logs record 2.82 tril. yen trade deficit in August as imports surge

Japan posted a record 2.82 trillion yen ($19.7 billion) trade deficit in August after higher energy prices and a sharp drop in the yen pushed the value of imports to their highest-ever level, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.The country's trade deficit has been widening recently and August marked the 13th straight month of red ink, underscoring the impact resource scarcity and heavy dependence on imports have on Japan.The deficit was larger than the previous record of 2.80 trillion yen seen in January 2014.Imports surged 49.9 percent to 10.88 trillion yen, the largest increase by value si…READ FULL ARTICLE