Japan's exports rose 8 per cent from a year earlier in April for the eighth straight month of increase amid the yen's decline and US economic recovery, the government said Monday, according to dpa. Japan's exports stood at 6.55 trillion yen (53.9 billion dollars) in April with shipments of vehicles up 7.2 per cent and those of semiconductor equipment growing 11.5 per cent, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report. A weaker yen makes Japanese goods more competitive overseas and improves repatriated revenues. The value of imports fell 4.2 per cent to 6.6 trillion yen due to falling energy prices, resulting in a trade deficit of 53.4 billion yen. The return to deficit followed the first surplus for 33 months in March, of 229.3 billion yen. Japan's trade balance has been impacted by soaring imports of fossil fuels for electricity generation since its nuclear plants were taken offline in the wake of the Fukushima disaster triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Japan's exports to the United States in April rose 21.4 per cent from a year earlier to 1.36 trillion yen while shipments to China, the country's largest trading partner, climbed 2.4 per cent to 1.12 trillion yen, the ministry said.
