The customs-cleared trade surplus for October rose for the seventh straight month, climbing 139.7 percent from the same period last year to 1.11 trillion yen, according to provisional figures released Thursday.
Exports increased by 17.3 percent to 4.65 trillion yen. But imports registered growth of only 1.2 percent to reach 3.54 trillion yen, the lowest year-on-year rise since July 1994.
Finance Ministry officials cited such factors as the yen's depreciation and the gap in economic performance between Japan and its trading partners. Exchange rates were put at 121.20 yen to the dollar as compared with 110.98 yen for October 1996.