Japan’s Slumping Exports Show Limits of Riding China’s Coattails

Japan’s Slumping Exports Show Limits of Riding China’s Coattails

Japan learned another hard lesson about how China alone can't pull it out of a trade funk as the coronavirus ravages other major shipping destinations.Japan's exports unexpectedly extended declines in November for the first time in six months, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The value of shipments slid 4.2% from a year earlier, a disappointing result given the consensus forecast for the first positive reading in two years.Auto exports fell 3% even after Toyota raised its profit outlook for the fiscal year by almost threefold earlier in the month, muddling the outlook for one of the most important sectors of Japan's economy.A geographic breakdown of overseas shipments reflected recent Covid-19 trends around the globe. Exports to the U.S., where record infections have been reported, returned to the red with a 2.5% drop. Those to Europe, where lockdowns are again weighing on economic activity, continued to decline.Even those to China, where a recovery has been faster