TOKYO: Japanese exports slowed further in August, data showed Thursday, offering yet more evidence of global difficulties spurred by China's stumbling economy.
The figures also highlight the challenge facing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he struggles to reignite growth and come a day after Standard & Poor's cut Japan's credit rating, saying the government had little chance of fixing underlying problems.
They will add to pressure on the country's central bank to add more stimulus, despite the bank's upbeat assessment this week.
The finance ministry said Thursday that exports rose 3.1 percent year-on-year to 5.88 billion yen ($49 billion) thanks to a rise in "automobiles and ships". That was slower than the previous month and included a 4.6 percent tumble in shipments to China.
But Junko Nishioka, chief economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Bank, told AFP: "The weakness (in Japan's exports) is not only coming from China, but also from the US and Europe.
"I think the third-quarter net trade data should add a negative contribution to growth, and bring headwinds for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Bank of Japan."
Exporters are not getting the boon they might be hoping for from the fall in the value of the yen, with weakness in China, a key driver of worldwide growth, and Europe the main concerns.
Abe has for more than two years pushed a huge spending blitz and monetary easing drive -- called "Abenomics" -- to inject life into the moribund economy and reverse almost two decades of deflation.
But he is struggling to make good on his pledges to cut red tape and open up the economy -- a so-called third arrow of his plan -- while inflation remains near zero and growth actually contracted in the second quarter.
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