Japan’s Trade Deficit Doubles as Hormuz Crisis Hikes Energy Import Costs

The Quick Take

Japan booked a trade deficit of $17.8 billion (2.82 trillion Japanese yen) for April to September, almost double the deficit from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, as the Middle East crisis made energy imports into the resource-poor G7 economy much more expensive. Between April and September, the period right after the Iran war began and choked oil and LNG supply at the Strait o