(MENAFN) Data showed that Japan's trade deficit hit a record of USD109 billion in 2014, mainly due to a huge post-Fukushima energy bills, amid forecasts to shrink on plunging oil prices, AFP reported.
The data marked the fourth-consecutive year of deficit, which stood at 11.4 percent wider than 2013 and the worst since records started in 1979, the Japanese finance ministry said.
In December alone, Japan's trade deficit almost halved from the previous year to USD5.6 billion, mainly due to falling oil prices, helped also by a better-than-expected 12.9 percent jump in exports.
Fuel costs have weighed heavily on Japan as the country struggles to bridge a huge energy gap after the 2011 atomic crisis forced the shutdown of nuclear reactors that supplied more than quarter its power.
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