Japan's exports fell 4 per cent from a year earlier to 5.7 trillion yen (50.6 billion yen) in February for the fifth month of decline in a row, despite a weaker yen, the government said Thursday, according to dpa. Japan's shipments to other Asian countries including China declined 6.1 per cent from a year earlier to 2.88 trillion yen for the sixth consecutive month of fall, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report. The figure accounts for about 50 per cent of its overall exports, the ministry said. Meanwhile, exports to China, Japan's largest trading partner, rose 5.1 per cent to 934 billion yen for the first rise in seven months. Japan's overall imports shed 14.2 per cent to 5.46 trillion yen amid plunging global energy prices, with imports of liquefied natural gas falling 43.5 per cent and those of petroleum down 33.3 per cent. That resulted in a trade surplus of 242.8 billion yen - the first surplus in two months. Japan has depended a great deal on petroleum and liquefied natural gas for power generation since the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Falling global energy prices, however, contributed to declines in import numbers.