Japan posts 1st trade deficit in electronics for half-year period

Japan posted a trade deficit of 81.2 billion yen ($605 million) in electronic equipment in the second half of 2022, government data showed, marking the first time on record imports have exceeded exports for a half-year period amid a decline in the competitiveness of Japanese products.

The deficit in the balance of trade in electronics also reflects a move by Japanese manufacturers to shift their production bases overseas.

The first red ink since comparable data became available in 1988 provides a stark contrast to the 1990s, when the industry propped up the nation’s trade with an annual surplu...