Japan's manufacturing profits fall 11.5% amid US tariffs

Pretax profits in Japan's manufacturing sector fell 11.5 percent year on year during the April-June quarter as U.S. tariff measures hit automakers particularly hard, official data showed Monday.

Pretax profits in transportation machinery, including automobiles, plunged 29.7 percent, while the chemical sector fell 19.0 percent, affected by higher R&D costs and currency fluctuations, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Non-manufacturing sectors, by contrast, saw a 6.6-percent profit increase, driven by robust tourism demand that boosted profits in services and transportation.

The country's corporate pretax profits in the April-June quarter reached a record 35.83 trillion yen (about 243.7 billion U.S. dollars), up 0.2 percent year-on-year, marking the third consecutive quarter of growth.

For fiscal 2024, overall corporate pretax profits climbed 7.5 percent to 114.7 trillion yen.

The ministry said the results reflect a gradual economic recovery but cautioned that inflation and U.S. trade policies remain key risks. (1 yen equals 0.0068 U.S. dollars)