Japanese Imports Rise: Japanese imports of electronic...

Japanese Imports Rise: Japanese imports of electronic equipment and devices in the first half of this year jumped 36.3% over a year ago while exports grew 13.1%, an industry report shows. The report, released by the Electronic Industries Assn. of Japan, said imports totaled $5.5 billion (770 billion yen) while exports amounted to $17.3 billion (2.42 trillion yen). Reflecting growing production by Japanese manufacturers abroad, imports from Asia soared 53.2% to $1.8 billion (253 billion yen), with electronic components and devices and integrated circuits accounting for $1.15 billion (161 billion yen) and $172 million (24.1 billion yen), up 43.2% and 85.9%, respectively. Imports from the United States and Latin America climbed 32.3% and 63.7% to $3.1 billion (434.2 billion yen) and $75.9 million (10.62 billion yen).