Japan had a merchandise trade surplus of 754.985 billion yen in March, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.
That was shy of expectations for 819.1 billion yen following the 242.2 billion yen surplus in February.
Exports were down 6.8 percent on year, beating forecasts for a fall of 7.1 percent following the 4.0 percent contraction in the previous month.
Imports skidded an annual 14.9 percent versus expectations for a decline of 16.5 percent after tumbling 14.2 percent a month earlier.
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