Japan’s international trade activity fell 4.2% year over year in January, the second straight decline and the result of an 8.4% slump in exports. That drop was worse than that seen by China – which saw a seasonally related rebound – and worse than South Korea’s. A drop in shipments to China were the main culprit though exports to most major Asian markets also fell. That would suggest widespread weakness in industrial supply chain requirements, particularly in electronics where exports of semiconductors fell 3.6% and computer components slumped 15.9%.