Japan Posts First Trade Deficit Since 1980

Japan posted a trade deficit of ¥2.5 trillion ($32.1 bil.) for 2011, the first such deficit since 1980, due to the effects of the devastating March 11 quake and tsunami combined with a surging yen and the impact of the European financial crisis on global consumer demand.

Exports fell 2.7% from 2011 to ¥65.55 trillion ($840.9 bil.) while imports jumped 12% to ¥68.05 trillion ($873 bil.) for a deficit of ¥2.5 trillion ($32.1 bil.), reported the Finance Ministry Wednesday,

Japan has not seen a trade deficit since 1980 when it was hit by the second oil crisis. It had posted a ¥6.63 trillion ($85.1 bil.) trade surplus in 2010.

The deficit is seen as the product of an unusual alignment of temporary factors rather than a symptom of a declining export sector. But the trade balance is seen as persisting until the yen weakens and global demand recovers.

In 2011 Japan imported a record 78.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas, according to the Finance Ministry, as it sought to offset the impact of the shutting down of most of its 54 nuclear reactors in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis. Crude oil and petroleum imports also rose 21.3%. This surge in energy imports caused a trade deficit of ¥10.87 trillion ($139.4 bil.) with Middle Eastern nations like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the biggest by region.

Adding to the trade deficit was a 10.6% drop in the value of auto exports due to the impact of flooding in Thailand in addition to the strong yen. The same factors also led to a 14.2% drop in exports of electronics and semiconductors.

Trade with China produced a ¥1.73 trillion ($22.2 bil.) deficit on a 1.4% dip in exports and a 9.1% surge in imports.

But the trade deficit isn’t large enough to erase Japan’s robust current account surplus from the earnings on its immense overseas investment holdings.