Tokyo, Jan 19 (IANS): Japan posted its biggest annual trade deficit since record keeping began in 2022, as soaring prices for energy and raw material prices were further inflated by a weaker yen, the government said in a report on Thursday.

According to the Finance Ministry, the country logged a 19.97 trillion yen ($155 billion) deficit for 2022 -- the largest amount for a year since comparable data became available in 1979, reports Xinhua news agency.

Imports in the recording period leaped 39.2 per cent to a record 118.16 trillion yen, while exports were up a record 8.2 per cent to 98.19 trillion yen, the Ministry's preliminary reports showed.

The yen's plunge to a more than three-decade low against the US dollar during 2022 punctuated the trade deficit and the fact that resource-poor Japan is at the mercy of imports for the country's core needs.

As for December alone, Japan booked a trade deficit of 1.45 trillion yen, the Ministry said.

In the month, imports climbed 20.6 per cent to 10.24 trillion yen, while exports rose 11.5 per cent at 8.79 trillion yen, the data showed.