Japan trade deficit widens

TOKYO: Japan’s trade deficit widened sharply to a record in 2013 as import costs outpaced export receipts due to a weaker yen and higher fuel bills, and the third straight annual shortfall was a reminder of the challenge facing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The record run of annual deficits by a nation that for decades had racked up hefty trade surpluses has raised questions about how Japan can fund and contain public debt of more than US$10 trillion, or more than twice the size of its economy.