Japan exports up more than 40%
Japan's exports in January jumped 40.9% from a year earlier, fuelled by robust demand for vehicles and high-tech goods in Asia, the finance ministry said.
Exports grew to 4.9 trillion yen (€40.1bn), marking the second consecutive month of year-on-year rise, the ministry said.
Vehicle exports in January rose 59.2% with car parts shipments surging 89.6% in the month, it said.
Japan's exports of semiconductor products also increased by 83.1%.
Among key regions, Asia-bound exports jumped 68.1% year-on-year to 2.7 trillion yen (€22.1bn).
The figure underscored the rising importance of Asian markets in Japan's economic recovery. Asia-bound shipments alone account for 55% of Japan's total exports.
Japanese exports to China soared 79.9% year-on-year to 920bn yen (€7.5bn) on the back of booming demand for vehicles, semiconductor products and plastic goods, the ministry said.
Exports to the United States expanded 24.2% to 710.4bn yen (€5.8bn) and those to the European Union grew 11.1% to 580bn yen (€4.75bn).
Overall imports in January increased 8.6% to 4.8 trillion yen (€39.27 trillion), resulting in a trade surplus of 85.2 billion yen (€697m) in the month, the ministry said.
