More than unfortunate

27 January 2012 By Ian Campbell

Japan’s 2011 catalogue of disasters drove up fuel imports and put trade in deficit for the first time in 31 years. But the deficit still matters. With Europe weakening and the yen strong, Japan can’t afford to rely on exports. The debt-ridden economy must do more to help itself.

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Japan recorded a trade deficit of 2.49 trillion yen ($32 billion) in 2011, Ministry of Finance data showed on Jan. 25, the first annual deficit since 1980.
Total exports fell by 2.7 percent in 2012 compared with 2011 while import spending rose by 12 percent.
The Bank of Japan said on Jan. 24 that it expects the economy to shrink by 0.4 percent in the 2011 fiscal year which ends in March, a downgrade from its previous forecast of 0.3 percent growth. “Japan’s economic activity has been more or less flat, mainly due to the effects of a slowdown in overseas economies and the appreciation of the yen,” it said in a statement.

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