Tokyo, Sep 20 (IANS): Japan logged 754.1 billion yen ($9.62 billion) in trade deficit in August, according to government data released Thursday.
The balance of goods trade remained in the red for the second straight month, the finance ministry said in a preliminary report.
Exports declined 5.8 percent to 5,045.9 billion yen for the third straight month, reported Xinhua.
Imports fell 5.4 percent to 5,800 billion yen, marking the sharpest decline in nearly three years.
Exports to China, Japan's biggest trading partner for Japan, lost 9.9 percent to 966.3 billion yen. Exports to the European Union dropped 22.9 percent to 477.9 billion yen, continuing to fall for almost a year.