TOKYO: Japan logged a trade deficit of 1.15 trillion yen (about 7.5 billion U.S. dollars) in January, the first deficit in three months, government data showed Wednesday.

Exports increased 16.8 percent from a year earlier to 9.19 trillion yen, following the 5.1 percent gain in the previous month, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

Meanwhile, imports slipped 2.5 percent year on year to 10.34 trillion yen, compared with the 5.3 percent rise in the prior month.