Japan reported stronger-than-expected trade in April, with exports climbing sharply for the eighth consecutive month even as energy supply concerns from the war in Iran weighed on parts of imports.
The Finance Ministry data released Thursday showed exports surged 14.8% in April compared with the same month a year earlier. The ministry attributed the strength in large part to a jump in shipments of semiconductors, which rose nearly 42% by value over the year.
Imports also increased, rising 9.7% from a year earlier. Even with the overall rise, the composition of imports shifted, reflecting tightening fuel access and higher costs tied to shipping disruptions linked to the war in Iran.
Japan’s trade balance swung to a surplus of 301.9 billion yen ($1.9 billion) for April, reversing a deficit recorded in April of the previous year. The country posted a surplus of nearly 643 billion yen in March.
Beyond semiconductors, the April export gains also included higher shipments of medical products, paper goods and electrical machinery, the Finance Ministry data showed. Exports to China rose 15.5%, while exports to the United States rose 9.5%, according to the same release.
On the import side, Japan’s oil imports fell nearly 50% by value from the prior year, while liquefied natural gas imports dropped 20%. The reports pointed to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is described as the main transport route for oil and gas shipments from the Persian Gulf.
Japan imports almost all of its oil, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has sought to offset reduced supplies by ordering the release of some national oil reserves. Despite that measure, the release said shortfalls pushed prices higher and also affected production for oil-related products such as naphtha.
The data also described how oil prices have risen—Brent crude traded at $70 a barrel before the war in Iran and has since shot above $100—and how a weakening yen has made dollar-denominated imports more expensive for Japan.
For investors and traders tracking global energy jitters, the episode continues a broader pattern of market attention to Hormuz-linked disruption—MSI previously reported that gasoline prices rose again after the Iran war strained the Strait of Hormuz as described in that earlier coverage. In Japan’s trade numbers, that tension shows up as energy-import declines alongside export momentum.