Every month, Japan's Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan publish the country's balance of payments. The release dated October 8, 2026 covers August, and it is marked preliminary. The headline row is the current account. For August it reads 40,620. The unit printed above the table is 100 million yen. So that is a surplus of ¥4.062 trillion.
We are going to read that table, and the summary page the Ministry published with it. This is not investment advice, and we take no view on whether any of this is good or bad. We are translating a government statistics release.
The unit
The table counts in units of 100 million yen (億円), and 10,000 of those make 1 trillion yen. The Ministry's summary page prints the same figure the Japanese way, as 4兆0,620億円: 4 trillion yen plus 620 units of 100 million. From here on, the trillions and billions of yen are our conversion of the printed figures.
Three balances add up to the current account
- Goods and services (貿易・サービス収支): a deficit of ¥803.5 billion (printed as −8,035)
- Primary income (第一次所得収支): a surplus of ¥5.1332 trillion (printed as 51,332)
- Secondary income (第二次所得収支): a deficit of ¥267.7 billion (printed as −2,677)
- Current account (経常収支): a surplus of ¥4.062 trillion (printed as 40,620)
On the printed figures, the three add up exactly: −8,035 + 51,332 − 2,677 = 40,620.
Goods
Goods and services is two rows. First, goods.
- Exports: ¥9.8623 trillion, up 16.9% from August 2025
- Imports: ¥10.55 trillion, up 26.7%
- Goods balance: a deficit of ¥687.7 billion (98,623 − 105,500 = −6,877 in the table's units)
- Goods balance in August 2025: a surplus of ¥113.8 billion
Here the summary page gives a reason, in one sentence: 輸入額の増加が輸出額の増加を上回ったことから、「貿易収支」は赤字に転化した。 In translation: as the increase in imports exceeded the increase in exports, the goods balance turned to a deficit. The page prints the two increases: exports rose by ¥1.423 trillion, imports by ¥2.2245 trillion. The change in the goods balance is printed as ▲8,015億円, that is, −¥801.5 billion.
Under that sentence, as reference, the page lists customs trade statistics. That is a separate release, and we do not read it here.
Services
The second row is services: a deficit of ¥115.8 billion. In August 2025, the deficit was ¥266.7 billion. An appendix table splits services in three.
- Transport: a deficit of ¥96.7 billion
- Travel: a surplus of ¥399.9 billion
- Other services: a deficit of ¥419.1 billion
As printed, those three come to −1,159 (−967 + 3,999 − 4,191), and the total row reads −1,158. A note under the main table says totals may not add due to rounding.
The summary's sentence on services, in translation: the services deficit narrowed, owing among other things to a narrower deficit in other services.
Primary income
Now the largest row. The appendix table gives both sides.
- Credit: ¥6.6564 trillion
- Debit: ¥1.5232 trillion
- Net balance: a surplus of ¥5.1332 trillion
- Net balance in August 2025: a surplus of ¥4.2227 trillion
The summary page prints the change in yen: +¥910.5 billion. The table prints it as a percentage: 21.6%.
Inside primary income, the main line is investment income (投資収益): a net surplus of ¥5.1377 trillion. The table divides it in three.
- Direct investment income: ¥2.6467 trillion
- Portfolio investment income: ¥2.4596 trillion
- Other investment income: ¥31.5 billion
The two other lines are small deficits: compensation of employees, −14, and other primary income, −31, in the table's units. 51,377 − 14 − 31 = 51,332.
The summary's sentence, in translation: the primary income surplus widened, owing among other things to a wider surplus in direct investment income.
Secondary income
The third balance, secondary income, was a deficit of ¥267.7 billion, against ¥441.7 billion in August 2025. The summary page labels that a narrower deficit, by ¥174 billion. For this row it gives no sentence of explanation, so we have none to translate.
The current account against a year earlier
Put together, the current account surplus of ¥4.062 trillion compares with ¥3.6281 trillion in August 2025. The change, as printed: +¥433.9 billion, or 12.0%.
The summary's sentence reads: 「経常収支」は、「第一次所得収支」が黒字幅を拡大したこと等から、黒字幅を拡大した。 In translation: the current account surplus widened, owing among other things to a wider surplus in primary income. The words "among other things" are in the original.
What the table and the summary do not say
Three things these pages do not tell you, and so we will not either.
- They do not break the primary income surplus down by country.
- They do not say why the secondary income deficit narrowed.
- They do not say what any of these balances will be next month.
One caution from the document itself: these figures are preliminary.
What it does say is this. In August 2026, on preliminary figures, Japan's current account was in surplus by ¥4.062 trillion. Goods and services were in deficit by ¥803.5 billion. Primary income was in surplus by ¥5.1332 trillion. Secondary income was in deficit by ¥267.7 billion.
The Ministry and the Bank publish this every month. We will read it again.
Source
Ministry of Finance and Bank of Japan — 令和8年8月中 国際収支状況（速報） / Balance of Payments for August 2026 (Preliminary), October 8, 2026: https://www.mof.go.jp/policy/international_policy/reference/balance_of_payments/preliminary/bp202608.pdf. The Ministry's summary page for the same release: https://www.mof.go.jp/policy/international_policy/reference/balance_of_payments/preliminary/pg202608.htm
The table is printed in units of 100 million yen. Trillions and billions of yen are LeakSquare's conversion (10,000 units = 1 trillion yen). Western years are our conversion from the Japanese era calendar. This is a reading of a public document. It is not investment advice and makes no recommendation to buy or sell any security.