TOKYO - Japan logged a record current account surplus of 25.34 trillion yen ($163 billion) in fiscal year 2023, according to a government report on Friday.

The overall surplus in the current account, the broadest measure of the country's overseas trade and investment flows, marked a roughly 2.8-fold increase from the previous fiscal year, supported by record foreign investment returns and a sharp fall in its trade deficit, according to the preliminary report by the Finance Ministry.

During the fiscal year ended March 2024, the country's trade deficit dived nearly 80 percent to 35.73 trillion yen after imports fell 10.3 percent to 105.44 trillion yen while exports rose 2.1 percent to 101.87 trillion yen.

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The report also showed that the primary income, or returns on overseas investments, totaled 35.53 trillion yen, up 0.6 percent from the previous year, partly because of a weak yen.

In March alone, Japan's current account surplus grew 44.0 percent to 3.40 trillion yen, after primary income went up 1.4 percent to 3.44 trillion yen and the trade balance swung back to a 491.0 billion yen surplus.