Japanese export growth continued for an eight month in July at 13%, but still lagged the 17% surge in imports. Chemicals led the expansion at 15%, while materials – including steel – rose by just 9%. Japanese managers’ expectations are at multi-year highs, suggesting more growth is coming. The challenge is more from a political perspective. Japan’s trade surplus vs. the U.S. increased 10% to $5.9 billion. That’s the highest since December and may cast a pall over bilateral talks during the rest of this year.