TOKYO, April 20. /TASS/. Russian-Japanese trade increased by 56.9% in the past year, reaching 2.7 trillion yen ($20.8 billion at the current exchange rate), according to information published by the Japanese finance ministry on Wednesday.

In the period between March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2022, exports of Japanese goods increased by 37.4%. Imports from Russia grew by 68.5%.

In particular, exports of Japanese cars to Russia increased by 21.6% in the reported period, while imports of Russian fuel grew by 49.9%.

Against the background of the novel coronavirus pandemic, trade turnover between Japan and Russia declined by 33% in 2020-2021, reaching 1.7 trillion yen ($15.7 billion at that point). Therefore, trade turnover exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2021-2022.

The structure of Russian-Japanese trade remained unchanged, with Japan exporting cars, equipment and microelectronic devices to Russia, and importing Russian fuel and raw materials, including metals and wood.