Japan exports jump 30.7 percent in first ten days of October

Japan's exports rose 30.7 percent from a year earlier to 3,822,613 million yen in the first ten days of October 2026, outpacing imports up 18.9 percent, so the trade deficit narrowed to 339,857 million yen from 577,469 million yen a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said in provisional figures.

Why it matters: The early October print reverses September's pattern, when the full-month deficit nearly doubled from a year earlier as imports outran exports, and suggests export earnings are now covering more of the energy-heavy import bill.

Data as of Ministry of Finance trade statistics, provisional, for the first ten days of October 2026, released October 29, 2026 Japan time and read in full from the Customs and Tariff Bureau release in this run (the ministry link redirects to Japan Customs). Figures are census totals, not seasonally adjusted, in millions of yen as published. Single primary source, the ministry itself, hence grade B. Developing item.

Japan’s exports rose 30.7 percent from a year earlier to 3,822,613 million yen in the first ten days of October 2026, while imports rose 18.9 percent to 4,162,470 million yen, leaving a trade deficit of 339,857 million yen, the Ministry of Finance said in its provisional release. The deficit was 41.1 percent smaller than the 577,469 million yen shortfall recorded in the same ten days of October 2025.

The early-month figures mark a turn from September, when imports rose faster than exports over the full month and the deficit nearly doubled from a year earlier. Ten-day provisional totals are volatile and subject to revision when the full-month release lands, but the direction is clear: export growth is running well ahead of import growth at the start of the fourth quarter.

Japan exports jump 30.7 percent in first ten days of October

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