Japan's November trade deficit shrinks 31.5%; exports stay weak

Tokyo

JAPAN's trade deficit in November shrank by nearly a third from a year ago, helped by higher exports and falling oil bills, although the volume of shipments to foreign markets remained weak, official data showed on Wednesday.

The figures come after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe swept weekend elections he had billed as a referendum on his programme to kickstart growth. The two-year-old policy blueprint took a hit after an April sales tax rise slammed the brakes on the world's third-largest economy, which slipped into recession during the third quarter.