이란 전쟁과 원자재 비용 상승 속 일본의 무역수지 변화
Japan logs 1.01 tril. yen trade deficit in January-June, hit by Iran war - Japan Wire by Kyodo News
지정학적 무역 차질과 환율 약세가 일본의 무역 수지에 상반된 압력을 가하며 시장 불확실성을 야기합니다.
핵심 요약
일본의 2026년 상반기 무역 적자는 에너지 비용 상승과 수출 호조에도 불구하고 발생했습니다.
(분석 상세 내용 생략)
Original Article
Japan logs 1.01 tril. yen trade deficit in January-June, hit by Iran war - Japan Wire by Kyodo News
TOKYO - Japan logged a trade deficit of 1.01 trillion yen ($6.2 billion) in the first six months of 2026, with the Middle East crisis and disruptions of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz affecting imports, government data showed Wednesday.
Japan's crude oil imports from the Middle East region fell 26.4 percent to 47.31 million kiloliters, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report, as the government rushed to secure fuel from alternative suppliers following the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran in late February.
Imports of oil from the United States surged 210.3 percent to 5.7 million kiloliters, the highest on record for the six-month period since comparable data became available in 1979, including a 5.6-fold jump to 2.72 million kiloliters in June alone, the data showed.
Before the Iran war, resource-poor Japan depended on the Middle East for more than 90 percent of oil imports.
A ministry official said that despite the Iran war, Japan's crude oil imports in June surpassed 86 percent of the previous year's volume. The country appears on course to achieve its target of securing the same volume of crude oil imports in July as last year.
But the weaker yen against the U.S. dollar, coupled with rising material and other costs -- partly due to the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz -- has inflated the overall value of imports, more than offsetting strong exports.
Although the overall deficit shrank 57 percent in the six months from a year earlier, Japan registered a trade deficit for the 10th straight half-year period, the data showed.
Japan's imports rose 10.7 percent to 61.67 trillion yen in the first half from a year earlier, reflecting demand for semiconductors from Taiwan, nonferrous metals and smartphones, the data showed.
Exports gained 13.7 percent to 60.66 trillion yen, thanks to robust shipments of semiconductors and other electronic devices, mainly to China, and autos to destinations such as the European Union.
Japan registered a surplus of 3.15 trillion yen with the United States. Exports rose on brisk demand for excavators and electric vehicles, but imports increased at a faster pace due to purchases of crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas and petroleum products.
Japan had a trade deficit of 4.64 trillion yen with China. Both imports and exports increased by double digits, reaching their highest levels since 1979, indicating active trade between the two neighbors despite strained bilateral ties over Taiwan.
The two countries' main traded goods were semiconductors and other electronic devices, driven by the growth of artificial intelligence.
For June alone, Japan posted a trade deficit of 406.9 billion yen, according to the ministry.