Photo taken on April 20, 2022, shows the Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes in Tokyo, Japan. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
Japan posted a record-high 19.97 trillion yen trade deficit for 2022 amid soaring prices of energy and raw material, with its currency plunging to a more than three-decade low versus the U.S. dollar.
TOKYO, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Japan posted its biggest annual trade deficit since record keeping began in 2022, as soaring prices for energy and raw material prices were further inflated by a weaker yen, the government said in a report on Thursday.
According to the Finance Ministry, the country logged a 19.97 trillion yen (155.29 billion U.S. dollars) deficit for 2022, marking the largest amount of red ink for a year since comparable data became available in 1979.
Imports in the recording period leaped 39.2 percent to a record 118.16 trillion yen (918.88 billion U.S. dollars), while exports were up a record 8.2 percent to 98.19 trillion yen (763.58 billion U.S. dollars), the ministry's preliminary reports showed.
A man stands in front of an electronic board showing the stock indexes in Tokyo, Japan, on Sept. 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)
The yen's plunge to a more than three-decade low versus the U.S. dollar during 2022 punctuated the trade deficit and the fact that resource-poor Japan is at the mercy of imports for the country's core needs.
As for December alone, Japan booked a trade deficit of 1.45 trillion yen (11.27 billion U.S. dollars), the ministry said.
In the month, imports climbed 20.6 percent to 10.24 trillion yen (79.63 billion U.S. dollars), while exports rose 11.5 percent at 8.79 trillion yen (68.35 billion U.S. dollars), the ministry's data also showed. ■
