The current account surplus grew to ¥607.4 billion ($5.7 billion) in January, its highest for the month since 2011, thanks to strong exports in Asia, government data showed Thursday.
The surplus rose year on year for the first time in three months, marking a more than sixfold rise from the same month last year. It was also Japan's 43rd consecutive month in surplus, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.
The data showed a goods trade deficit of ¥666.6 billion, showing red for the first time in eight months. But the deficit was smaller than in January 2017, thanks to strong car demand in China, the ministry said.