Japan registered a ¥1.98 trillion current account deficit in January 2023—the biggest-ever deficit on record, topping the ¥1.46 trillion seen in January 2014. The size of the deficit suggests that it was not just due to rising prices of crude oil and other imports but also to structural change, as imports exceeded exports on a real basis.

Writing in the May/June issue of Japan Spotlight, Research Director Nobuo Iizuka breaks down recent trends in Japan’s balance of payments, focusing on trade in services. The deficit in services widened from ¥4.2 trillion yen in 2021 to ¥5.4 trillion in 2022, he writes, primarily because of a bigger deficit in “other business services,” which includes R&D services, professional and management consulting services, and technical and trade-related services.

“Japan’s Current Account Surplus Significantly Reduced,” Japan Spotlight
https://www.jef.or.jp/journal/pdf/249th_Economic_Indicators.pdf

Profile of Research Director Nobuo Iizuka
https://www.tokyofoundation.org/experts/detail.php?id=381