TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s exports soared 14.8% in April from the same month a year earlier, according to Finance Ministry data released Thursday, showing that its trade remained robust despite worries over supplies of oil and gas due to the war in Iran.
Exports were stronger than expected, rising for the eighth straight month as shipments of semiconductors surged nearly 42% by value from the previous year. Booming demand for computer chips and other infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence has yielded a windfall for many high-tech Asian manufacturers.
Imports rose 9.7% from a year earlier.
The trade balance shifted to a surplus of 301.9 billion yen ($1.9 billion) from a deficit in the same month the year before. Japan recorded a surplus of nearly 643 billion yen in March.
Higher exports of medical products, paper goods and electrical machinery also contributed to the stronger export performance in April.
Exports to China rose 15.5% and exports to the U.S. rose 9.5%. Imports from China climbed 15% while those from the U.S. jumped 23%, the data show.
While overall imports rose, Japan's oil imports fell nearly 50% by value from a year earlier, while imports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, dropped 20%. Supplies have been crimped by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the main transport route for exports from the Persian Gulf, due to the war in Iran.
Japan imports almost all of its oil, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has sought to to offset lower supplies by ordering the release of some national oil reserves. However, shortfalls have pushed prices higher and also impacted the production of oil-related products such as naphtha. ,
The price of Brent crude, trading at $70 a barrel before the war in Iran, has shot above $100 and a weakening yen has made imports of oil denominated in dollars still more costly for Japan.
Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama
Containers are stacked at a port in Tokyo Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (Michi Ono/Kyodo News via AP)
PHUM BOEUNG, Cambodia (AP) — Hundreds of Cambodians on Thursday morning honored their village’s guardian spirits by holding a colorful centuries-old ceremony to pray for good fortune, rain and prosperity.
The “He Neak Ta” ritual has been celebrated annually for several hundred years by the villagers in Phum Boeung, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.
The ceremony, which has become increasingly rare in modern times, coincides with the onset of the summer monsoon as farmers prepare for planting rice, a particularly water-intensive crop.
Although most Cambodians are Buddhist, the ritual reflects a widespread faith in animism, the belief that spirits can inhabit all types of living and inanimate objects.
Chamrouen Ratha, a 26-year-old blacksmith, said he was taking the day off from work to join other villagers in honoring the same spirits celebrated by his ancestors.
“The significance of this ceremony is to pray for happiness and prosperity for all the villagers in this area and the participants who have joined this ceremony,” he said.
Villagers of all ages congregate about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the local monastery dedicated to their guardian spirit. Young village men paint scenes inspired by local folklore on their faces and bodies, dress as spirits and don grass skirts. A few wear painted oversized heads atop their costumes.
Many young woman wear traditional silk clothing, with gold-colored necklaces and flowers tucked behind their ears. Some dance elegantly to the beat of handheld drums and small gongs.
The ragtag procession, including some participants traveling on motorbikes and even on horseback, slowly makes its way to the guardian spirit's shrine.
There, villagers light incense sticks and offer various types of fruit, food, soft drinks, and alcohol while praying for good fortune, adequate rain, prosperity and the prevention of disease within their community.
The half-day ceremony concludes with the spraying of holy water on the cheerful participants.
“I pray for enough rainfall with abundant rice production ... so that villagers would enjoy their harvest,” said one of the costumed marchers, 30-year-old driver Sim Pov.
Neak Mao, 64, who brought two horses with him, said he has attended the ceremony since he was young.
"This celebration is to ensure that the traditions of our ancestors are not lost, which they have tried to preserve and we continue to do so every year,” he said.
A boy with a ghost painting takes part in a ceremony to invoke rain amid the rice planting season in Pring Ka-ek village, northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
A man representing a ghost rides on a horse during a ceremony to invoke rain amid the rice planting season in Pring Ka-ek village, northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Villagers march to mark a ceremony to invoke rain amid the rice planting season in Pring Ka-ek village, northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Boys representing ghosts participate during a ceremony to invoke rain amid the rice planting season in Pring Ka-ek village, northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
A man with a ghost painting takes part in a ceremony to invoke rain amid the rice planting season in Pring Ka-ek village, northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
