Japan's latest trade data shows the country's exports and imports continued to fall last month as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on economic activity.

Exports slid nearly 15 percent in August from a year earlier, while imports tumbled about 21 percent.

Japan's exports declined 14.8 percent in August from a year earlier, preliminary trade data released by the Finance Ministry on Wednesday showed.

Imports also decreased sharply, falling 20.8 percent year on year. That left the country with a trade surplus of about 248 billion yen, or approximately 2.4 billion dollars.