Japan's trade deficit in 2024 shrank 44 percent from a year earlier to 5.33 trillion yen ($34 billion), as exports hit a record high due to robust vehicle and semiconductor-related demand, government data showed Thursday.

Kyodo News quoted the Finance Ministry as saying that overall exports grew 6.2 percent from the year before to 107.09 trillion yen, the highest since comparable data became available in 1979.

Imports climbed 1.8 percent to 112.42 trillion yen, up for the first time in two years, the ministry said in a preliminary report.

For December alone, Japan reported a 130.9 billion yen trade surplus, the first black ink in six months.