Japan had a merchandise trade surplus of 217.381 billion yen in February, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday - down 80.5 percent on year.
That was shy of expectations for a surplus of 420 billion yen following the downwardly revised 325.4 billion yen deficit in January (originally -323.9 billion yen).
Exports dropped 4.5 percent on year, also missing forecasts for a decline of 0.8 percent after rising 6.4 percent in the previous month.
Imports jumped an annual 11.8 percent versus expectations for an increase of 11.9 percent following the 9.5 percent contraction a month earlier.
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