Japan posted a record trade deficit of ¥11.47 trillion ($112.07 billion) in 2013, up 65.3 percent from the previous year, as the weaker yen and growing demand for energy drove up import costs, dwarfing a sharp expansion in exports, the government said Monday.
The previous record deficit was ¥6.94 trillion, set in 2012, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report, adding the balance of trade in goods posted red ink for the third straight year for the first time since comparable data became available in January 1979.
Japan's economic growth has been driven by investment of export earnings. But last year's trade deficit underscores that the economy is no longer an export powerhouse and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has to carry out structural reforms to sustain economic growth, analysts said.