TOKYO, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Japan booked a goods trade deficit of 582.4 billion yen (5.09 billion U.S. dollars) in December, the finance ministry said in a report on Thursday.
Exports increased 17.5 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said, while imports climbed 41.1 percent, the government's preliminary report said.
Japan logged a goods trade deficit of 1.47 trillion yen (12.85 billion dollars) for the whole of 2021, falling into the red after logging a 388.3 billion yen surplus (3.39 billion dollars) in 2020, the finance ministry also said. ■