Japan's Trade Surplus Shrinks

By Akane Vallery Uchida and Yuka Hayashi TOKYO -- Japan's trade surplus in June tumbled from a year earlier as exports fell for the first time in nearly five years, in a sign of declining consumer demand in countries around the world. The grim export performance bodes ill for the world's second-largest economy, as exports have been a key driver of Japan's economic growth over the past few years. Even without weaker exports, many economists had grown more pessimistic about the economic outlook in recent weeks, citing sluggish demand from domestic consumers and deteriorating sentiment among... [read full story]