{"id":659,"date":"2026-05-20T20:17:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T03:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/caaca7690d00722931ec7f51ef1c46ab"},"modified":"2026-05-22T16:43:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T16:43:40","slug":"japan-records-bigger-exports-and-imports-in-april-despite-oil-supply-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/?p=659","title":{"rendered":"Japan records bigger exports and imports in April, despite oil supply concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TOKYO (AP) \u2014 Japan\u2019s exports soared 14.8% in April from the same month a year earlier, according to Finance Ministry data released Thursday, showing that its trade remained robust despite worries over supplies of oil and gas due to the war in Iran<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Exports were stronger than expected, rising for the eighth straight month as shipments of semiconductors surged nearly 42% by value from the previous year. Booming demand for computer chips and other infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence has yielded a windfall for many high-tech Asian manufacturers. <\/p>\n

Imports rose 9.7% from a year earlier.<\/p>\n

The trade balance shifted to a surplus of 301.9 billion yen ($1.9 \u200cbillion) from a deficit in the same month the year before. Japan recorded a surplus of nearly 643 billion yen in March.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Higher exports of medical products, paper goods and electrical machinery also contributed to the stronger export performance in April.<\/p>\n

Exports to China rose 15.5% and exports to the U.S. rose 9.5%. Imports from China climbed 15% while those from the U.S. jumped 23%, the data show. <\/p>\n

While overall imports rose, Japan\u2019s oil imports fell nearly 50% by value from a year earlier, while imports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, dropped 20%. Supplies have been crimped by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transport route for exports from the Persian Gulf, due to the war in Iran.<\/p>\n

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5 MIN READ<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Japan imports almost all of its oil, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi<\/a><\/span> has sought to to offset lower supplies by ordering the release of some national oil reserves. However, shortfalls have pushed prices higher and also impacted the production of oil-related products such as naphtha. ,<\/p>\n

The price of Brent crude, trading at $70 a barrel before the war in Iran, has shot above $100 and a weakening yen has made imports of oil denominated in dollars still more costly for Japan.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@yurikageyama<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TOKYO (AP) \u2014 Japan\u2019s exports soared 14.8% in April from the same month a year earlier, according to Finance Ministry data released Thursday, showing that … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":660,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,1,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=659"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":693,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659\/revisions\/693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newshouse.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}