Japan logs 549 billion yen trade deficit in October

TOKYO, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Japan registered a 549 billion yen ( some 6.70 billion U.S. dollars) trade deficit in October as exports to China and Europe remained weak, according to the data released by the government Wednesday.

The Finance Ministry said, the overall exports fell 6.5 percent to 5,150 billion yen from the previous year, for the fifth straight month of decline.

Japan's export to China fell 11.6 percent to 947.8 billion yen for the fifth straight monthly fall, with vehicles dropping 82.0 percent, the sharpest fall in 11 years due to the rising tensions with China over a territorial dispute.

Meanwhile, Japanese imports slid 1.6 percent to 5,699 billion yen, the first decrease in two months.

The global economic downturn also continued to weigh on Japanese exports and production. (1 U.S. dollar equals 81.91 Japanese yen)

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