FX.co ★ Japan Current Account Surplus Tops Estimates

Japan’s current account surplus rose to JPY 2,988.9 billion in July 2026 from JPY 2,586.3 billion a year earlier, beating market expectations of a JPY 2,870 billion surplus. The improvement was driven primarily by a larger primary income surplus, which increased to JPY 4,289.6 billion from JPY 4,053.9 billion. In addition, the services deficit narrowed to JPY 512.9 billion from JPY 771.1 billion, and the secondary income deficit shrank to JPY 387.9 billion from JPY 508.9 billion.

These gains were partly offset by a wider goods deficit, which expanded to JPY 399.9 billion from JPY 187.7 billion. Goods exports rose 24.1%, supported by strong global demand for AI-related electronics, but imports grew at an even faster pace of 25.9%, in part due to higher crude oil purchases.

For the first half of 2026 as a whole, Japan posted a current account surplus of JPY 17.43 trillion, up from JPY 14.23 trillion in the same period a year earlier.