Giant Japan-U.S. Trade Surplus

TOKYO — Japan rang up a $3.41-billion trade surplus with the United States in May, second only to the record $3.46 billion of April, as Japanese car exports continued to soar above year-earlier levels, the Finance Ministry reported today.

Japan said its exports to the United States came to $5.69 billion in May, while imports of U.S. products totaled $2.28 billion. For all of last year, Japan’s surplus in U.S. trade was nearly $37 billion, and U.S. government officials have predicted that the surplus will hit $50 billion this year.