TOKYO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Japan's import costs hit a record high in April owing to rising energy costs and the yen's depreciation, the government said in a report on Thursday.
According to the finance ministry, the record high import costs led to Japan booking a goods trade deficit of 839.2 billion yen (6.52 billion U.S. dollars) in the recording period.
From a year earlier, the country's imports climbed 28.2 percent to 8.92 trillion yen (69.34 billion U.S. dollars), which marked the highest since January 1979 when comparable data became available.
The ministry's data also showed that Japan booked a trade deficit for a ninth straight month in April, which was the longest run of red ink since February 2015 when Japan's deficit ran for 32 consecutive months.
Import costs have surged for resource-poor Japan amid growing demand as the country emerges from the economic downside effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, punctuated by supply constraints as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The yen's depreciation has also pushed up Japan's import costs, the ministry said, with the Japanese currency at one point in the reporting period, for the first time in 20 years, hitting the 131-yen mark versus the U.S. dollar.
Specifically in April, the ministry's data showed that in terms of energy imports, those for crude oil surged 99.3 percent, marking the 13 successive month of increase, to 1.2 trillion yen (9.33 billion U.S. dollars).
Meanwhile liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports soared 151.6 percent, while coal imports rocketed 198.6 percent in the recording period, the ministry added.
In value terms, the data showed that overall imports booked a record high for the second straight month.
Exports were up 12.5 percent in the recording period to 8.1 trillion yen (63.04 billion U.S. dollars), with the rise in exports being overwhelmed by the increase in imports for the 14th successive month, according to the ministry's data.
As for exports, those related to the auto sector increased 4.8 percent in the recording period, while iron shipments grew 37.1 percent, the finance ministry said. ■
