Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 224.038 billion yen in June, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.
That exceeded expectations for a deficit of 240.0 billion yen following the 1,220.1 billion yen shortfall in May.
Exports were up 5.4 percent on year at 9.208 trillion yen, shy of forecasts for an increase of 6.4 percent and down from 13.5 percent in the previous month.
Imports rose an annual 3.2 percent to 8.984 trillion yen versus expectation for a gain of 9.3 percent and down from 9.5 percent a month earlier.