TOKYO, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Japan's exports grew by 40.9 percent in January compared to the same month in the previous year, according to statistics released by the finance ministry on Wednesday.

The total value of the nation's exports stood at 4,902 billion yen (54.3 billion U.S. dollars) for the month.

The figures were buoyed by goods sold to Asia, which account for more than 50 percent of all Japanese exports.

Japan's imports also increased for the first time since October 2008, standing at 4,817 billion yen (54 billion dollars).

Exports to China for January stood at 920 billion yen (10.2 billion dollars), an increase of 79.9 percent, while imports were worth 1,050 billion yen (11.63 billion dollars), a decrease of 2.3 percent.