Current account surplus nearly doubles to ¥20.63 trillion in 2023

Japan’s current account surplus nearly doubled to ¥20.63 trillion ($140 billion) in 2023 from a year earlier, boosted by record returns on foreign investments and a sharp drop in the trade deficit, government data showed Thursday.

Primary income swelled to ¥34.56 trillion, the highest since comparable data became available in 1985, with a weaker yen inflating the value of overseas investment returns for Japanese companies.

The trade deficit more than halved to ¥6.63 trillion after exports rose 1.5% to ¥100.27 trillion and imports dropped 6.6% to ¥106.90 trillion, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.