The country's current account surplus jumped 107.7 percent in May from a year earlier to 1.04 trillion yen, marking an eighth consecutive month of increase, according to a preliminary report released Monday by the Finance Ministry.
The ministry attributed this growth primarily to a 321.1 billion yen surplus in goods-and-services trade, led by strong exports to other Asian markets and the United States.
This surplus marked a turnaround from the deficit of 183.2 billion yen chalked up in May 2001, when the implosion of the information technology boom slowed the country's exports, according to a ministry official.