The August data comes amid concerns about a negative impact of the territorial dispute between Japan and China on bilateral trade.
Japan`s imports from the US fell for the first time in two months in August, rose, according to the Japanese Ministry of Finance, edging down 0.1 per cent year on year to $6.38 billion. As a result, Japan`s trade surplus with the US expanded for seven months in a row, swelling 27.8 per cent from a year earlier to $4.85 billion.
The growth in US-bound shipments in August, despite a weak economic recovery in the US, was led by auto parts, up 39.5 per cent; construction, up 60.7 per cent, and mining machinery and motors, up 20.7 per cent.
The decline in imports from the US was led by grain, down 31.1 per cent; medical products, down 21 per cent and electronics parts, down nine per cent.
Japan is now the world`s third-largest economy after the US and China and is heavily dependent on exports for growth. The US is Japan`s second-largest trading partner after China.