According to the provisional data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan's total exports in September this year came to a value of JPY 5.1 trillion (approx US$55.78 billion), decreasing by 30.7 percent year on year. Meanwhile, the country's imports in September amounted to JPY 4.58 trillion (approx. US$50.1 billion), down 36.9 percent compared to September 2008. Thus, Japan's foreign trade balance for September this year reached JPY 520.64 billion (approx. US$5.69 billion), increasing by 4.7 times year on year.
In September, Japan's total iron and steel product exports came to about 3.55 million metric tons, up 4.4 percent year on year, totaling a value of JPY 266.4 billion (approx. US$2.91 billion), 44.3 percent lower than the September 2008 level. At the same time, Japanese iron and steel imports in September this year amounted to 358,763 metric tons, down 31 percent year on year, totaling a value of JPY 35.79 billion (approx. US$391 million), down 65.3 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, also in September this year, Japanese motor vehicle exports reached 455,903 units, down 39.3 percent year on year, while motor vehicle imports totaled 13,630 units, down 35 percent. The country's ship exports totaled 1,579,302 gross tons, increasing by 8.2 percent compared to September 2008.