Japan's economy picking up but trade stays in deficit

The Japanese government has upgraded its assessment of the Japanese economy.

The Cabinet Office's July report on the economy on Tuesday said: “The economy is picking up steadily and shows some movements on the way to recovery.”

However, while a report on Wednesday indeed showed that Japan's exports rose 7.4 percent in June, its fourth consecutive increase, imports rose 11.8 percent, pushing the trade balance into a 180.8 billion yen deficit.

The June deficit extended the country's string of monthly deficits to the longest since a 14-month run that ended in August 1980.