(File photo)

According to data released by Japan's Ministry of Finance on May 12, Japan realized its first trade surplus in five years.

The data shows that thanks to falling oil prices and a growing numbers of foreign visitors, Japan's 2015 fiscal year surplus reached 17.98 trillion yen—twice as much as in the 2014 fiscal year. 

According to the Tourism Bureau of Japan, in the 2015 fiscal year, a record-breaking 21.36 million foreign tourists visited Japan, which is a 45.6 percent growth from 2014. In addition, the unfavorable balance of service trades like tourism, passenger transport and freight transport has narrowed to 1.21 trillion yen. 

About 5 million Chinese tourists visited Japan in 2015, for a year on year growth of 107 percent. Although Chinese tourists only accounted for one quarter of the total visitors to Japan, spending by Chinese tourists made up 41 percent of the total spending of all foreign visitors. There is even a new Japanese word, “bakugai,” to describe the shopping habits of Chinese tourists. “Bakugai” was chosen as one of the hottest words in Japan in 2015.