Japan's current account surplus swelled to a record 17.4 trillion yen in the first half of 2026, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday, driven by strong exports of semiconductors for AI data centres that pushed the trade balance into a 742 billion yen surplus, reversing a year-earlier deficit.
Primary income rose 0.3 percent to 20.5 trillion yen, while the services deficit widened to 1.8 trillion yen. Exports grew 12.8 percent year-on-year to 59.2 trillion yen, outpacing an 8.4 percent rise in imports.
However, the current account swung to a 92.3 billion yen deficit in June, the first shortfall in 17 months, missing analyst expectations for a 1.51 trillion yen surplus. The monthly gap was attributed to rising crude oil imports amid tensions in Iran and a concentration of dividend payments by Japanese firms to overseas shareholders. The data follows a record 6 trillion yen currency intervention by Tokyo on April 30.