Japan's exports posted a double-digit slump for a sixth straight month in August as U.S.-bound shipments shrank due to a global demand slowdown from the coronavirus pandemic, casting a shadow over the trade-led recovery from the deep recession.
The export decline highlights the immense task Yoshihide Suga, who is assured to be elected prime minister later on Wednesday, faces in driving an economic recovery.
Total exports fell 14.8 percent year-on-year in August to ¥5.23 trillion ($50 billion), as auto shipments to the European and Asian markets except China remained sluggish, but that marked a smaller decline than the 16.1 percent expected by economists in a Reuters poll, official data showed Wednesday.