THE BUZZ: Japan trade deficit at record USD75B in first half

Japan’s trade deficit surged to a record 7.6 trillion yen (USD74.9 billion) in the first half of the year as exports failed to keep pace with surging imports, the Finance Ministry reported.
Japan’s bulging import bill was partly due to a jump in demand as businesses and consumers stepped up purchases ahead of an April 1 increase in the sales tax to 8 percent from 5 percent.
Imports for the six months jumped 10 percent to 42.6 trillion yen ($420 billion) while exports rose 3.2 percent to 35.1 trillion yen ($346 billion), the preliminary data show.
Imports from China including industrial machinery, consumer products and food jumped 14 percent, leaving Japan with a 2.92 trillion deficit with China for the first half.