Japan's trade surplus remained on an uptrend in April, rising 30.3 percent from a year earlier on the back of brisk economic growth in China and other Asian neighbors, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.
The latest data show that the strength of the country's exports, which has been the major engine behind the economic recovery, remained intact.
The merchandise trade surplus -- exports minus imports -- marked 1.08 trillion yen, expanding for the 10th consecutive month and staying above 1 trillion yen for the third month in a row.
Overall exports were up 10.8 percent at 5.11 trillion yen, while imports amounted to 4.03 trillion yen, up 6.5 percent. Both exports and imports were at their second-highest levels on record. Higher oil prices in April were offset by the yen's appreciation against the dollar, the ministry said.
"The impact of crude oil prices did not appear in the April data," a senior ministry official said.
"But we need to keep an eye on energy prices and their impact on Japan's imports."
The Asian region remained the main contributor to the trade surplus. The surplus with the region surged 62.6 percent to 667.2 billion yen for the 10th straight month, as Japan exported more components of digital gadgets such as liquid crystal display TVs and mobile phones to the region.