The value of outbound shipments from Japan dropped 28.3 percent year on year to 4.18 trillion yen ($39 billion) in May due to coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdowns in most countries, a government report showed on Wednesday.
The reading represented the 18th straight month of decline, with the epidemic delivering a crushing blow to Japan's export-oriented economy.
Exports to the United States plummeted 50.6 percent from a year earlier to 588.4 billion yen, with vehicle shipments down 78.9 percent and car parts falling 73.2 percent, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report, Deutsche press agency (dpa) reported.
Shipments to China, Japan's largest trading partner, fell 1.9 percent year on year to 1.1 trillion yen, while imports declined 2 percent to 1.5 trillion yen, the ministry said.
Japan's overall imports dropped 26.2 percent to 5 trillion yen, which led to a trade deficit of 833.4 billion yen.
