TOKYO, Feb 18, (AP): Japan's exports surged nearly 17% in January from a year earlier, lifted by seasonal factors and strong demand in China and other Asian markets. Imports slipped 2.5% from the same month a year earlier to 10.3 trillion yen ($67 billion), while exports climbed 16.8% to 9.19 trillion yen ($59.8 billion), the Finance Ministry reported Wednesday.

That left a deficit of 1.15 trillion yen ($7.5 billion), less than half the trade deficit recorded a year earlier. Analysts noted that a key reason for the big jump early in the year was because the Lunar New Year occurs later than usual, falling on February 17. Japan's economy depends heavily on exports and dramatic increases in tariffs by US President Donald Trump have taken a toll.

The economy expanded at an anemic 0.2% annual pace in the last quarter, with growth for 2025 at just 1.1% as weaker exports offset a modest increase in private consumption. Exports to the US fell 0.5% in January, the latest data showed, while imports from the US rose 3%. Exports to the US of vehicles, which account for about a third of the total, fell nearly 10%.

Despite antagonisms with Beijing over comments by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, Japan's exports to China jumped 32% year-on-year in January. Exports to all of Asia were robust, surging 26%, the data show. Imports of semiconductors and other computer components showed the fastest growth, likely reflecting the impact of the boom in artificial intelligence, which has supercharged demand for data center equipment and computer chips.

"But the currently strong tailwind from the US AI boom is unlikely to last, suggesting that gains in exports to Asia excluding China will moderate,” Norihiro Yamaguchi of Oxford Economics said in a commentary. He said exports were "highly likely to moderate next month.”