Japan's current account surplus for 2003 rose 11.6 percent from the previous year to a record 15.79 trillion yen, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
The surplus grew for the second straight year, with Japan having exported more goods to China and other major trading partners.
The higher surplus was also backed by a decline in the number of Japanese tourists going abroad due to the SARS outbreak in Asia and security concerns before and after the Iraq war.
The current account is the broadest gauge of trade in goods and services, which also includes cross-border income through investment.
The trade balance -- exports minus imports -- posted a surplus of 12.26 trillion yen, up 4.4 percent from the previous year.
Exports expanded 4.9 percent to an all-time high of 51.93 trillion yen due to increased Japanese exports to other Asian countries. Imports rose 5.1 percent to a record 39.67 trillion yen. The figure was helped by Japan's brisk imports from other Asian countries. Services, including travel, marked a deficit of 3.89 trillion yen, which fell 26 percent from the previous year. In 2002, the deficit was 5.26 trillion yen.
For December alone, the current account surplus jumped 38.5 percent from the previous year to 1.2 trillion yen, marking the sixth consecutive month of growth.
Separately, the capital and financial account registered a surplus for the first time since 1969, partly due to an influx of foreign investment in the Japanese stock market on hopes of a recovery in Japan's economy, a ministry official said.