Japan's exports grew in September for a second month in a row, reflecting the nation's gradual recovery from March's earthquake and tsunami as car production returns to pre-disaster levels.
Exports rose 2.4% from a year earlier to 5.98 trillion yen ($78.2 billion), pushing Japan back into a trade surplus after registering a deficit in August, the finance ministry said.
The gain beat market expectations for a 1% expansion and came after a 2.8% rise in exports in the previous month.
Imports soared 12.1%, however, to 5.68 trillion yen, rising for the 21st month,in a row mainly due to higher energy prices. That left a trade surplus of 300.4 billion yen ($3.9 billion), also bigger than market expectations.
But the trade surplus was 61.2% lower than the level seen last year, reflecting the high cost of energy as Japan ramps up imports of fossil fuels to make up for the shortfall in power supply, with many of the country's nuclear plants still offline in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.
Leading the exports recovery, auto exports rose 4.9% while exports of auto parts jumped 11.5%, the finance ministry said.
Looking ahead, however, worries remain for Japan after the yen reached a new record against the dollar on Friday.
Major foreign markets such as the US and Europe tend to stagnate ahead of the Christmas sales season, also pressuring exporters.
The Cabinet Office last week downgraded its view of the economy for the first time in six months as an overseas slowdown weighed on output and exports, while a strong yen further clouded the outlook.
