Japan's trade balance fell into the red in April with a deficit of ¥463.7 billion, a big shift from the ¥189.4 billion surplus the month before, as the March 11 earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc on exporters' production plants in the northeast, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
It was the first April since 1980 to show a trade deficit, the ministry said.
It was also the first deficit since January, when exports tend to be lower than other months due to the New Year's holidays.