Japan's current account surplus fell in 2001 for the first time in two years, dropping 12 percent from a year earlier to 11.06 trillion yen, according to preliminary figures released Thursday by the Finance Ministry.

The current account also showed that Japan's income account surplus exceeded the shrinking goods-and-services trade surplus for the first time, according to the current method of calculation, which the ministry began using in 1985.

The income surplus totaled 8.82 trillion yen, while the trade surplus came to 8.52 trillion yen.