Japan had a merchandise trade deficit of 40.7 billion yen in May, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.
That missed forecasts for a surplus of 70.0 billion yen following the 823.5 billion yen surplus in April.
Exports were down 11.3 percent on year, missing forecasts for a fall of 10.0 percent following the 10.1 percent decline in the previous month.
Imports skidded an annual 13.8 percent - matching forecasts after plummeting 23.3 percent a month earlier.
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