People wearing face masks walk along the Kanda River as a train passes by near a station in Tokyo, on Sept. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's goods exports expanded 26.2 percent in August from a year earlier, maintaining a rapid pace of recovery from last year's initial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday.

       Exports increased for the sixth straight month to 6.61 trillion yen ($60 billion), led by brisk shipments of steel to the European market and semiconductor-producing equipment to Asian nations except China, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

       The year-on-year growth in exports exceeded 20 percent for the fifth consecutive month, rebounding from a 14.8 percent plunge in August last year when Japan continued to suffer from dwindling global demand for items such as cars caused by the pandemic.

       Reflecting robust demand, exports were up 7.6 percent from August two years ago before the virus outbreak, the ministry said.

       Meanwhile, automobile exports rose 4.0 percent in the reporting month, much slower than the 43.5 percent jump in the previous month, possibly reflecting a cutback in output by some domestic automakers due to a global chip shortage and the impact on parts suppliers in Southeast Asia of the spread of coronavirus, a ministry official said.

       Imports surged 44.7 percent to 7.24 trillion yen for the seventh straight monthly increase on higher prices of crude oil imports from nations such as Saudi Arabia as well as rises in medicine and liquefied natural gas purchases.

       As a result, the country logged the first goods trade deficit in three months, standing at 635.36 billion yen.

       By region, Japan's exports to the United States grew 22.8 percent to 1.15 trillion yen and imports surged 33.5 percent to 757.49 billion yen. But car exports fell 12.4 percent, the first decline since February.

       Shipments to China increased 12.6 percent to 1.42 trillion yen, and imports climbed 23.2 percent to 1.63 trillion yen. In contrast to other Asian destinations, chip-making machine exports to Japan's largest trade partner were down 10.1 percent.

       Exports to Asia as a whole increased 26.1 percent to 3.88 trillion yen and imports soared 30.4 percent to 3.37 trillion yen.

       As for the European Union, exports soared 29.9 percent to 618.77 billion yen, while imports jumped 54.5 percent to 862.61 billion yen.

       "The growth in exports has been getting slower recently," said Kazuma Kishikawa, an economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research. He added that prices of exported items per unit have increased due to higher resource prices, outweighing a decrease in exports of some goods on a volume basis.

       For example, car exports in volume terms inched down 1.1 percent from a year ago, compared to a 4.0 percent rise in value terms.

       But Kishikawa said overseas consumers' demand for cars itself remains solid, citing that Japan's exports of auto parts to the world grew 28.7 percent.

       Looking forward, Kishikawa warned that the Chinese government's recent move to tighten its grip on the real estate investment market could dampen its domestic demand for goods used for infrastructure building such as steel, possibly hitting Japan's exports.

       All figures were compiled on a customs-cleared basis.

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