Japan’s exports grow on solid car shipments

Finance Ministry data showed yesterday that exports rose 0.6% year-on-year in May, for the 27th straight month of rises, led by double-digit growth in car shipments. — Reuters

TOKYO: Japan’s exports grew unexpectedly in May on robust car sales, though the rate of expansion slowed to a crawl as inflation and rising interest rates bit into global demand, highlighting a patchy recovery in the world’s third-largest economy.

While the country’s hotels, restaurants and other service sector companies have seen a boom in business since Covid curbs were eased, its factories have been struggling amid weakening demand for Japanese cars and electronics.