Record deficit as Japan's imports soar

Japan posted a record trade deficit last month, data released yesterday showed, underscoring how soaring energy bills have hurt the country's trade balance despite a jump in exports.

Government figures showed a 35.1 per cent year-on-year rise to a 1.29 trillion yen (HK$97.2 billion) deficit, the worst result for November and the 17th consecutive month of shortfall - the longest stretch since comparable data began more than three decades ago.

Japan's energy imports surged after the 2011 Fukushima crisis forced the shutdown of the country's nuclear reactors, which once supplied a third of the nation's power.

A sharp decline in the yen, while good for exporters' profitability, has also forced up the cost of importing fossil fuels to plug the country's energy gap.

The yen has been under pressure since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office late last year, launched a policy blitz that meshed government spending with a central bank monetary easing plan unveiled in April.

The policy drive, dubbed Abenomics, is aimed at rebooting the world's third-largest economy, which has suffered from growth-sapping deflation for years.