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Japan September trade deficit hits $9.5 billion

TOKYO, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Japan Monday reported a trade deficit of 932.14 billion yen ($9.5 billion) for September, largely due to a weaker yen, which drives up import costs.

September was the 15th straight month in which the country's trade balance ran into deficits, the Finance Ministry reported on its website.

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September exports rose 11.5 percent from the same month of last year to 5.97 trillion yen ($60.9 billion) 60, thanks largely to higher automobile exports to the United States. However, they were more than offset by September imports, which soared 16.5 percent year-on-year to 6.9 trillion yen ($70.5 billion), blamed mostly on fuel import costs.

In the first half of the fiscal year ended September, Japan's trade deficit hit a record 4.98 trillion yen ($50 billion).

The economic policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, focused on pulling the country's export-dependent economy out 15 years of chronic deflation, has helped bring down the value of the yen against the U.S. dollar, which helps exports. However, a weaker yen, which has been declining in recent months, also has pushed up Japan's import costs, mostly to finance energy imports.

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The government, despite the growing trade deficit, is expected to continue with its aggressive policies, analysts have said.

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