Japan Current Account Surplus Below Estimates

2026-03-09 01:29 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

Japan’s current account surplus jumped to JPY 942.6 billion in January 2026 from JPY 344.6 billion in the same month a year earlier, though it came in slightly less than market forecasts for a gain of JPY 960 billion.

The improvement was largely driven by a sharp narrowing in the goods account deficit, which shrank to JPY 600.4 billion from JPY 2,934.0 billion a year earlier, as exports surged 20.5% while imports declined 7.7%, reflecting softer energy import costs and resilient external demand.

However, other components were less supportive.

The primary income surplus, mainly earnings from overseas investments, fell to JPY 2,746.6 billion from JPY 3,520.0 billion, while the secondary income deficit widened slightly to JPY 489.3 billion from JPY 440.8 billion.

Meanwhile, the services account deficit expanded sharply to JPY 715.3 billion from JPY 498.8 billion, partly reflecting stronger outbound travel and payments for foreign services.



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