TOKYO, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Japan booked a current account surplus for the 51st straight month in September, aided by earnings from overseas investments, the government said in a report on Thursday.

According to the Finance Ministry, Japan's current account surplus stood at 1.82 trillion yen (16 billion U.S. dollars) in the recording month, with a goods trade surplus of 323.3 billion yen and a services trade deficit of 41.5 billion yen, the ministry's preliminary data showed.

Japan registered a surplus of 1.69 trillion yen (14.87 billion U.S. dollars) in its primary income, which is evidence of its profits secured on investments made overseas.

Owing to robust earnings from foreign investments, Japan ran a current account surplus of 10.65 trillion yen (93.74 billion U.S. dollars), down 8.3 percent from the same period last year for the April-September period, the ministry also said.