Japan's trade surplus in February surged 51.7 percent from a year earlier, as its surpluses with China and other Asian economies hit record levels, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
The nation's robust trade surplus was backed by China's continuing economic growth, along with Japanese firms' low-cost production bases in Asia, featuring high-tech components from Japan.
The merchandise trade surplus -- exports minus imports -- came to 1.41 trillion yen, marking an eighth consecutive month of rise, the ministry said.