Japan logs first annual trade deficit in 28 years

September 24th, 2009 TOKYO - Japan posted a trade surplus for the seventh straight month in August, compared to a deficit in the same month the previous year, the finance ministry said Thursday. The surplus was 185.7 billion yen ($2.04 billion) against a deficit of 314.2 billion yen the year before, suggesting a positive trend for Japan's export-led economy.

August 19th, 2009 TOKYO - China was Japan's biggest trading partner in the first six months this year, according to a report Wednesday. For the first time, Japan's exports to China surpassed those to the US.

July 6th, 2009 US, Japan make progress on opening Japanese marketWASHINGTON — The United States says it has made progress in opening Japan's market to foreign investors. The U.S. trade envoy's office said Monday in an 86-page report that the countries were acting to speed up regulatory reviews for pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

June 27th, 2009 Japan, South Korea agree to tighter economic tiesTOKYO — Japan and South Korea have agreed to team up to nurse their economies back to financial health, Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano said Saturday. "We have reached a joint understanding that to ride out the current economic and financial crisis, Japan and South Korea will cooperate in a variety of settings," he told reporters.

April 28th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Preparations for the annual 'Ratha Yatra' or the chariot festival of the famed Jagannath temple in Orissa's Puri town is underway, with carpenters and priests performing several rituals for the religious event beginning June 24. The priests performed rituals to purify the wooden logs used to construct the chariots for deities, said Laxmidhar Puja Panda, spokesperson of the temple administration.

April 27th, 2009 Japan says economy to shrink 3.3 pct this yearTOKYO — The Japanese government said Monday the economy is likely to shrink 3.3 percent this fiscal year, its worst contraction since World War II, as exports continue to plummet. "The global economic crisis and economic downturn is increasing in severity, and Japan's export market is rapidly shrinking," the Cabinet Office said in a statement.

April 27th, 2009 Japan says economy to shrink 3.3 percent this yearTOKYO — Japan's economy is likely to shrink 3.3 percent this fiscal year, its worst contraction since World War II, the Cabinet announced Monday as it submitted a massive supplementary budget to finance a new stimulus package. "Exports and production are falling drastically, while employment conditions are rapidly worsening.

April 27th, 2009 Japan says economy to 3.3 percent this yearTOKYO — The Japanese government said Monday the economy is likely to shrink 3.3 percent this fiscal year, its worst contraction since World War II, as exports continue to plummet. "The global economic crisis and economic downturn is increasing in severity, and Japan's export market is rapidly shrinking," the Cabinet Office said in a statement.

April 22nd, 2009 Japan posts first annual trade deficit in 28 yearsTOKYO — Japan reported Wednesday its first annual trade deficit in 28 years. The deficit for the fiscal year that ended in March was 725.3 billion yen ($7.35 billion), the Finance Ministry said.

April 22nd, 2009 Japan's export slump eases slightly in MarchTOKYO — The severe slump in Japan's exports eased slightly in March, offering a small sign that overseas demand may be headed toward recovery, even as the nation recorded its first annual trade deficit in 28 years. Exports in March plunged by almost 46 percent from a year earlier, the finance ministry said Wednesday, but the decline wasn't as bad as February when exports slumped by about half.

April 22nd, 2009 Japan's exports dive 46 percent in MarchTOKYO — Japan's exports continued to slump in March, hit by declining shipments of autos and electronics, underlining a grim outlook for the world's second-largest economy as it struggles to climb out of recession. Japan also recorded its first annual trade deficit in 28 years for the 12 months through March, the Ministry of Finance said Wednesday, as the global economic crisis sank demand for the nation's mainstay exports.

April 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US trade deficit fell by 28.3 percent in February to $25.97 billion, the lowest since November 1999, the commerce department reported Thursday. This marked a record seventh straight month of trade deficit decline in the country.

March 9th, 2009 TOKYO - Japan logged its first current account deficit in 13 years in January of 172.8 billion yen ($1.8 billion), the Finance Ministry data showed Monday. It was the first current account deficit since January 1996 and the largest since comparable data became available in January 1985, the government said.

March 7th, 2009 MUMBAI - The fiscal deficit will stimulate growth of the Indian Economy, chief economic advisor Arvind Virmani said here Friday. 'GDP growth rate for India can be reasonably forecast after the publishing of figures for agricultural output.

February 25th, 2009 TOKYO - Japan logged the largest trade deficit on record in January as the global recession slowed exports, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The nation's trade deficit totalled 952.6 billion yen ($9.97 billion) in January.