Marking the sixth straight month of red ink and the largest since minus figures in January 2014 hit 2.80 trillion yen, Japan's goods trade deficit stood at 2.19 trillion yen (19 billion U.S. dollars), the finance ministry said, with all figures compiled on a customs-cleared basis.
It also said in its preliminary report, that the overall imports' value climbed from a year earlier to 8.52 trillion yen. The value of imports has now risen for 12 straight months and has struck record highs for three straight months, not seen since comparable data became available in January 1979.
Multiple factors contributed to pushing up the value of Japan's imports. These included soaring energy prices, notably for crude oil, coal and liquefied natural gas, against a backdrop of possible and aggressive tightening of its monetary policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve henceforth.
Japan's exports, meanwhile, hit 6.33 trillion yen in the reporting period, the ministry said, logging an 11th straight monthly increase.
Japan's exports to China, its largest trading partner, saw the first drop in 19 months. The ministry's assessment was that this was due to a decline in plastic and vehicle engine shipments. Meanwhile, Japan saw its imports from China soared.
Exports to the United States increased 11.5 percent to 1.12 trillion yen, owing to continued demand for chip-making equipment, the government's report showed.
Imports from the United States leaped 33.4 percent to 781.89 billion yen, meanwhile, on rising demand for medical and petroleum products.
To the single bloc European Union, Japanese exports jumped 16.1 percent to 618.04 billion yen, while imports expanded 26.2 percent to 870.69 billion yen, the report showed.
Exports to Asia including China totaled 3.58 trillion yen, marking a rise of 6.3 percent, while imports increased 29.1 percent to reach 4.18 trillion yen, the finance ministry said. (100 Japanese yen equals 0.87 U.S. dollar)
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