Japan books 4.9 bln USD trade deficit in August

TOKYO, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Japan logged a 695.29 billion yen (about 4.9 billion U.S. dollars) trade deficit in August as a weak yen inflated import costs for the resource-scarce country, government data showed on Wednesday.

The overall trade balance remained in the red for the second consecutive month, but the deficit shrank 26 percent from a year ago supported by exports of chip-making equipment as well as sem