Japan posts Y114.48 bil trade deficit in September

Abenomics isn't working.

I'm having Ginza retailers telling me that the only thing keeping them alive is the influx of cashed-up Chinese tourists. The labels are worried about domestic demand tanking, as no one has any money. If it's this bad now, can you imagine how horrific it'll be after 2020!? It's astounding just how much damage Abe has caused in such a short period of time...

no one in their right mind should have expected it to.

but the slowdown in China has further hindered a recovery in exports

So China is again blamed for Japans problems. There has to be other issues besides the "slowdown" of a single country!

Don't hold your breath with the TPP fixing this trade deficit either, it's not going to happen.

I agree with Stuart. If anything the tpp will probably make the trade deficit worst. And I'm sick of hearing everything blamed on China's economy. It's the global economy all connected. People aren't buying plastic garbage from China because they have less of a disposable income world wide so if there's someone to blame it's the Japanese government putting all bets on exports and government sucking taxes out of the everyday consumer. But I'm sure their solution will be more government intervention to fix the problem which has caused half the mess in the first place.

Good job, Mr Abe. Abenomics is working.

imports of oil, gas and coal fell 36% from the year before.

Even with this and the yen depreciation, they can't even make it positive LOL , speaking volume also how much it was necessary to restart the nuclear plants, look it gas, oil, coat cost less and less so we must restart our dirty, unsecure & expensive nuclear plants at all cost. Maybe this country will be in better condition if they were not doing everything in reverse.

Exports to China fell 3.5% from the year before, to 1.11 billion yen

I believe in coming years there would be nothing left to export as production have shifted outside Japan?

And yet JUST yesterday the BOJ's Kuroda said that the economy is 'progressing along' fine. I guess even he knew that his deeds and those of the government's were leading Japan to hell in a handbasket. So, yes, he's correct.

As a poster pointed out above, blaming China isn't the whole picture. Japan needs much more than abenomics, like real innovation, to be more competitive in other important (but less powerful) markets.

Unlike China, it is said Japan may not survive intact in a world economy that is slowing more and more. And Japan should avoid aggravating the situation in other areas (Yasukuni, meddling in the South China Sea, etc.) that could further negatively impact its economic lifelines (exports to China is one big lifeline)... even now the Chinese tourists are such another lifeline for Jp businesses that could be disrupted with any bad or insensitive move on the part of Jp.

Many economists had forecast that the trade balance would be in positive territory for the month, but the slowdown in China has further hindered a recovery in exports, adding to pressure on Japan’s central bank to expand monetary stimulus to help revive growth.

Uh, duh, doesn't the BOJ see the foolishness in this kind of "thinking"? "The slowdown in China has further hindered a recovery in exports" won't in any way be helped by more "monetary stimulus". Unless, of course, the yen declines further, which means the cost of imports, like food and fuel, will rise, further dampening domestic consumption, and making the balance of trade even worse. The LDP-led decades of pork-barrell spending, to gloss over the domestic economy's glaring issues, has pretty much backed Japan into a corner economically. Gonna get uglier before it gets better.

Whelp, Abe nom nom nom nom nom x. Epic Fail.

Exports to China fell 3.5% from the year before, to 1.11 billion yen. Meanwhile, exports to the U.S., now Japan’s biggest overseas market, jumped 10.4% to 1.28 billion yen. Imports from the U.S. edged 0.1% lower to 617 billion yen.

Exports to the US 1.28 billion yen Imports from the US 617 billion yen

I think you need a decimal point somewhere in the second number. Probably before it.

It's a bit worrying that Japan is in deficit even with a low oil price pushing down the value of imports, but presumably the oil price is low because of low world demand. It'll take a stronger world economy for demand to go up, and such economy may well buy more of Japan's exports. Anyway, the idea that can Japan can just devalue away and someone will buy the Japanese stuff Japanese people themselves can no longer afford looks fundamentally flawed.

Japan isn't just picked up.....

I wonder what the trade deficit would have been if the oil price didn't go down. Abe really got lucky. The trade deficit would've been a lot worse.

I wonder what the trade deficit would have been if the oil price didn't go down. Abe really got lucky. The trade deficit would've been a lot worse. just another reason to switch the N reactors back on before oil / gas prices start to rise again. no solar and wind geothermal wont be enough to supply base load power that is required, not for at least another 15~20yrs

It's all about Yen is too strong, period. Products made in Japan are too expensive and not selling in global market. Global consumers are price sensitive.