The decrease in exports was a reversal of the 0.5% rise expected by economists polled by Reuters, and comes amid a lack of a breakthrough in trade talks with the U.S.

Throughout the spring, Ishiba battled to reach a deal on the government’s budget and to assuage concerns among the public about the rising cost of living. But a weak political base is not Ishiba’s only problem.

Rice prices in Japan soared 99.2 percent in June year-on-year, official data showed Friday, piling further pressure on Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of elections this weekend. Overall, Japan's core inflation rate slowed to 3.

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's government said its top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, held a 45-minute phone call with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on U.S. tariffs on Thursday.

Japan's shaky minority government is poised for another setback in an upper house vote on Sunday, an outcome that could jolt investor confidence in the world's fourth largest economy and complicate tariff talks with the United States.

Japan's trade surplus significantly narrowed to JPY 153.1 billion in June 2025, a substantial drop from JPY 221.3 billion a year prior and well under the forecasted JPY 353.9 billion. Exports fell for the second consecutive month,

(Reuters) -Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is arranging to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Tokyo on Friday, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday, ahead of an August 1 deadline to strike a trade deal with the United States.

Japan must diversify trade ties beyond the U.S. market to mitigate risks and focus on partnerships with countries favouring free trade, Hirofumi Yoshimura, co-representative of the opposition Japan Innovation Party,