Japan's exports in September fell for the first time since 2016, as shipments to the United States and China fell, likely hampering economic growth in the third quarter and raising concerns about the growing impact of the Sino-US trade war.
The data came days after a Reuters poll showed that one-third of Japanese companies, not just exporters, were affected by the China-US trade dispute and more than half were worried about their impact on their business.
The dispute over tariffs between the United States and China has yet to affect business, but the slowdown in external demand has reinforced views that Japan's economy, the world's third-largest economy, slowed sharply in the third quarter.
Japanese exports fell by 1.2 percent in September from a year earlier versus expectations of a 1.9 percent rise following a 6.6 percent rise in August, the first decline since November 2016, while imports rose by 7 percent.
Japan's exports to the United States fell by 0.2 percent, while imports from the United States rose by 3.1 percent, Japan's trade surplus with the United States dropped 4 percent on a yearly basis to 590 billion yen ($ 5.24 billion).
