Japan posted a $9.6 billion trade deficit for August as shipments to Europe and Asian countries sank, further undermining hopes for an export-driven revival in the world's third-biggest economy.

The 754.1 billion yen ($9.6 billion) deficit in August was not much smaller than the $9.9 billion deficit reported a year earlier, the Finance Ministry reported Thursday. Exports in August totaled 5.05 trillion yen ($64.33 billion), down 5.8 percent from a year earlier, while imports fell 5.4 percent to 5.8 trillion yen ($73.9 billion).

The strong Japanese yen has bit into exports while demand has evaporated in crisis-stricken Europe. Meanwhile, the country's energy imports have risen following closures of most of its nuclear plants.

Japan's central bank, which on Wednesday announced it would boost the size and duration of a government bond-buying program to spur growth, forecast little change in the immediate future.