Japan’s Trade Surplus Hits Record in 1985
Japan on Friday reported a record surplus of $56 billion in trade with the rest of the world in 1985 as its leaders said that smoothing out the imbalance remains the nation’s top priority.
The figure was released by the Finance Ministry, which said exports totaled $174 billion against imports of $118 billion. The disclosure followed Thursday’s announcement by the United States that it had a trade deficit of $49.7 billion with Japan last year.
Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who brushed aside questions in Parliament on Friday about reportedly poor prospects for Japan’s economy, told reporters earlier that resolution of the trade issue had his government’s highest priority.
News of the huge surplus helped to weaken the dollar further on currency markets. It closed at 192.65 yen in Tokyo on Friday, down from 193.95 on Thursday and from well over 200 only a week earlier.
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