Japanese Tourists Help Cut Current Account Surplus

TOKYO — Free-spending Japanese tourists will probably make a big dent in the country’s current account surplus this year, taking as much as $5 billion with them on trips abroad, economists said Friday.

Japan’s unadjusted current account fell to a $6.48-billion surplus in July from $7.28 billion a year earlier, the Finance Ministry reported last Friday, and analysts said tourism was a key factor in the reduction. The current account balance-of-payments surplus was $6.43 billion in June.

July exports were $22.81 billion, up from $21.41 billion in June and $19.54 billion in July, 1987. Imports edged up slightly to $14.05 billion from $14.03 billion in June, compared to last July’s $10.95 billion total.

The fall in the current account, compared to a year ago, showed evidence of how many yen Japanese are already spending abroad, said economist Hidehiro Iwaki at Nomura Research Institute.

Tourism affects the current account, as this figure measures a country’s foreign trade status in terms of goods, services, and other types of spending abroad. Tourists’ expenses represent capital outflow and show up as debits in the current account.

The July figures were the first time that the Finance Ministry had included cash-spending of yen abroad. As the yen has become more internationalized and easily-used overseas, the ministry included the figures, said a ministry spokesman. The official also noted increased amount of yen held in bank deposits overseas.

$87-Billion Surplus

“It is generally expected that Japanese (tourists) will spend about $3 billion abroad this year just in cash,” Iwaki added, “but I think they will spend even more, maybe as much as $5 billion.”

Japan’s current account ran an $87-billion surplus last year, and Iwaki said he expects the 1988 current account surplus to drop to some $75 billion.

But Japan’s trade surplus in goods alone, which excludes capital outflows such as tourism, seems less likely to shrink. Although July imports climbed nearly 30% from July, 1987, exports surged almost 17%, expanding the trade surplus to $8.76 billion.