On March 10, Japan's Ministry of Finance said on Monday that Japan's current account deficit in January was 257.6 billion yen ($1.7 billion), the first deficit in two years, due to increased imports. According to a preliminary report by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan's merchandise trade deficit was 2.94 trillion yen. Exports rose 2.1% year-on-year to 7.50 trillion yen, while imports rose 17.7% to 10.44 trillion yen. Among other key components, the main indicator reflecting Japan's income from overseas investment was 3.60 trillion yen, up 20.5 percent from the previous year.