Japan saw a merchandise trade deficit of 993.916 billion yen in May, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.
That beat forecasts for a shortfall of 1.22 trillion yen following the downwardly revised deficit of 881.9 billion yen (originally 879.9 trillion yen).
Exports surged 10.1 percent on year, topping forecasts for a gain of 6.4 percent after adding 3.8 percent in April.
Imports climbed an annual 10.0 percent versus expectations for 11.0 percent after gaining a revised 9.5 percent in the previous month (originally 9.4 percent).
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.