Japan saw record-high exports last year, as its annual trade deficit declined 44 per cent from the previous year, the Finance Ministry reported Thursday.

The trade deficit, which measures the value of exports minus imports, totalled 5.3 trillion yen ($34 billion), according to government data, as imports ballooned on the back of rising energy costs and growing inflation around the world.

Exports from the world’s third-largest economy totalled 107.9 trillion yen ($691 billion), surpassing the 100 trillion yen mark for the second-straight year, and the biggest value on record for comparable data, which dates back to 1979, the ministry said.