Japan's current account surplus for fiscal 2013 that ended in March fell by more than ¥3 trillion from the previous year to ¥789.9 billion — the lowest since comparable data became available in 1985. It marks a steep fall from the peak of ¥24.3 trillion just six years ago.
The figures point to a clear transformation in the way the nation earns money from overseas. The old export-driven model of economic growth is over, and the nation needs a new model that will keep and create jobs at home.
Behind the steep fall in the current account surplus — the broadest measure of the nation's international trade — is the sharp increase in the trade deficit, which hit a record ¥10.86 trillion. The nation barely managed to avoid a current account deficit for the year as surplus in the primary income account, which shows Japan's earnings from its foreign investments, rose 14 percent to a record ¥16.6 trillion.