Japan’s current account surplus shot at a record level last year, according to data from the Ministry of Finance published on Monday, driven for a weaker that increased the yields of investments abroad, compensating with Solgure the commercial deficit.
The current account surplus reached 29.3 billion yen (U $ S192,670 million) in 2024, the highest figure since comparable data is available in 1985, and represented an increase of 29.5% compared to the year former.
Primary income from values and direct investments abroad remained the main motor of the surplus, reaching a record of 40.2 billion yen, as Japanese companies seek growth outside the country, including the acquisition of foreign companies.
The commercial deficit It was reduced by 40%, up to 3.9 billion yen, Thanks to the solid performance of automobile exports and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, as well as the fall in energy imports costs.
Other data from the Japanese economy
The tourism surplus increased to 5.9 billion yen, reflecting the rise of receptive tourism. In December, Japan’s current account surplus was 1.08 billion yen, below 3.35 billion yen of the previous month.
Japan’s current account surplus used to be considered a reflection of the strength of its exports and a confidence factor in Yen as an active refuge.
However, its composition has changed in the last decade, since trade ceased to generate surplus due to the increase in energy imports and the growth of production abroad by Japanese companies.
Japan now compensates the commercial deficit with the solid primary income surplus, which includes interest payments and dividends of investments passed abroad.
However, most of these income does not become yen or repatria, but is reinvested abroad, which, according to analysts, could be contributing to the weakness of the Japanese currency.
“There is no reason to repatriate funds, since investments abroad generate greater returns than domestic ones,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist of the Norinchukin Research Institute.
Japan now faces pressure from the United States, its largest export destination, to reduce its annual commercial surplus of 68.5 billion dollars, a claim that President Donald Trump made during the first visit to the White House of Prime Minister Shigeru Ihiba the Friday.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
