The current account surplus expanded to a 10-year high of ¥21.87 trillion in 2017, lifted by solid earnings from foreign investments and a record-high travel surplus, government data showed Thursday.
The 7.5 percent year-on-year rise in the current account — one of the widest gauges of international trade — also came as Japan benefited from accelerating export growth. But a surge in energy imports to the resource-poor country weighed on the trade surplus last year, according to a preliminary report by the Finance Ministry.
The nation's current account surplus stood at ¥24.95 trillion in 2007 before the global financial crisis touched off by the collapse of the U.S. housing market.