Japan’s annual trade deficit narrowed 78% in 2015, as the value of energy imports fell while auto exports gained momentum, official data showed Monday, AFP reported. The nation’s fifth-straight annual trade deficit came to 2.83 trillion yen ($23.8 billion), with auto exports surging 10.3%, while imports of crude oil dropped 41%, the finance ministry said. Exports to China fell 1.1% to 13.2 trillion yen, while exports to the US jumped 11.5% to 15.2 trillion yen, making the US Japan’s largest export market. Japan’s imports of crude oil, gas and other fuels plunged 43% in December to 1.4 trillion yen. In 2015, they fell 34%, to 18.2 trillion yen.
