Japan reports its exports rose nearly 10 per cent in June from a year earlier, while imports jumped 15.5 per cent, biting into its trade surplus.
A recovery in exports to China and the rest of Asia is helping sustain Japan's own growth. The customs figures reported Thursday showed exports to China surged 20 per cent from a year earlier.
Exports to the U.S. climbed 7 per cent, to 1.3 trillion yen ($11 billion), while imports from the U.S. climbed 19 per cent, to 716.9 billion yen ($6.4 billion).
Exports of vehicles and machinery showed the strongest increase, while oil and gas imports jumped 31 per cent.
The total trade surplus of 439.9 billion yen ($3.9 billion) compared with a 686.5 billion yen surplus in June 2016, down more than a third from a year earlier.
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