TOKYO, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Japan's trade surplus in June dropped 30.8 percent from a year earlier to 153.1 billion yen (about 1 billion U.S. dollars), as shipments to the United States continued to fall amid hefty tariffs, government data showed Thursday.
Overall exports edged down 0.5 percent year-on-year to 9.16 trillion yen, marking the second consecutive monthly drop, while inbound shipments grew 0.2 percent to 9.01 trillion yen, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance.
By region, Japan's trade surplus with the U.S. shrank 22.9 percent to 669.3 billion yen, as exports declined 11.4 percent to 1.71 trillion yen and imports dropped 2.0 percent to 1.04 trillion yen.
Automobile shipments to the U.S. slipped further to a decline of 26.7 percent in value terms as a result of the higher tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on Japanese cars and other products.
Overall, exports rose 3.6 percent during the first half of 2025, while imports increased 1.3 percent. As a result, Japan ran a trade deficit of 2.22 trillion yen in the first half, down 34.2 percent from the previous year. (1 Japanese yen equals about 0.007 U.S. dollar) ■
