TOKYO: Japan's exports rose for a seventh straight month led by demand tied to artificial intelligence that has for now blunted the impact of trade disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict, government data showed on Wednesday (Apr 22). "Overall trade continued to be driven by demand from data centres for artificial intelligence," said Koki Akimoto, an economist at Daiwa Institute of Research. "Looking ahead, AI-related demand is likely to remain firm, but with some impact from the Middle