Overview
- Imports surprised with a 3.3% year-on-year rise in September, beating the Reuters poll expectation of 0.6% and reversing August’s 5.2% drop.
- Exports to Asia strengthened, with shipments up 9.2% and sales to mainland China rising 5.8% from a year earlier.
- Shipments to the United States fell 13.3% year on year in September, including a 24.2% drop in auto exports by value.
- For April through September, exports to the United States declined 10.2% as car exports fell 22.7% and Japan’s U.S. trade surplus shrank 22.6% to 3.32 trillion yen, according to government data.
- Tokyo and Washington set reciprocal tariffs at 15% with new rates taking effect in mid-September, and investors have leaned into the so-called Takaichi trade as the yen weakened and the Nikkei hit record highs.