Japan reports record $78.3B trade deficit in 2012

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's trade deficit in 2012 rose to a record 6.93 trillion yen ($78.3 billion), as fuel imports surged and a bitter territorial dispute with China hammered its exports.

The provisional figures reported by the Finance Ministry on Thursday showed the trade deficit narrowed, however, in December, to 641.5 billion yen ($7.25 billion) from the 954.8 billion yen shortfall in November. That's despite a 5.8 percent drop in exports for the month.

Recovering overseas demand has coincided with a recent decline in the yen's value against the U.S. dollar and even bigger drops against other major currencies driven by expectations that stimulus spending and monetary easing championed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office a month ago, will help drive a turnaround in Japan's moribund economy.

But the weak yen policy has rankled some of Japan's trading partners, raising worries that it might precipitate a destabilizing round of "competitive" devaluations.

Energy imports surged 34 percent last year, to 24.08 trillion yen ($3.3 trillion). Rising costs for fuel and other commodities have pushed costs for Japanese manufacturers sharply higher after Japan's nuclear plants were taken offline following Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant accident following the earthquake and tsunami disasters in March 2011.

December was the sixth straight month of deficits. Exports have suffered from plunging demand in crisis-stricken Europe and troubles with China after a flare-up over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea prompted anti-Japanese protests last fall.

The annual trade deficit was a 170 percent increase from the deficit of 2.56 trillion yen recorded in 2011.

Abe has focused his stimulus program on boosting manufacturing competitiveness while spurring domestic demand through a sharp increase in government spending on public works. Ample capital circulating due to monetary easing in most major economies has helped drive a rally in the stock market, but efforts to make real structural changes in the economy after two decades of stagnation will take time.

The tensions with Beijing remain a potential pitfall for the recovery, despite Japan's efforts to shift more of its trade and offshore manufacturing into Southeast Asia and India.

Japan's exports to China sank 10.8 percent last year, to 11.5 trillion yen ($130 billion) while imports rose 2.7 percent to 15.03 trillion yen ($170 billion), leaving a deficit of 3.52 trillion yen ($39.8 billion).

Exports to the European Union likewise fell, by nearly 15 percent, leaving a deficit of 139.7 billion yen ($1.6 billion).

But trade with North America, mainly the U.S., rebounded, with exports climbing 12 percent and imports about 2 percent, for a surplus of 4.9 trillion yen ($55.4 billion).