Japan's trade surplus jumped by 51.30% last year - its first rise in four years - but exports which underpin the troubled economy weakened at the end of 2002.

"The rise in exports to Asian countries contributed most to the overall trade surplus figure in 2002," a finance ministry official said.

The 9.9 trillion yen (�51.4bn; $84bn) surplus comes after it shrunk by 38.7% in 2001.

Exports rose 6.4% to a record level of 52.1 trillion yen, due to record shipments to Asian countries, especially China, and strong demand for cars in the US.

But in December, Japan's trade surplus increased by a less-than-expected 19.9% from a year earlier to 791bn yen, with higher oil prices pushing up the cost of imports.

Japan is heavily depended on Middle Eastern oil and fears of a US war on Iraq have pushed crude to above $30 per barrel from below $23 in mid-November.

Export fears

"The trade gap was narrower than our forecasts due to a steep rise in imports, mainly because of the rise in oil prices," said Takeshi Minami of UFJ Tsubasa Securities.

"The outlook for the domestic economy remains bearish, as today's figures give clear evidence that exports are falling," he said.

Exports helped drag Japan out of its deepest post-war recession last year but growth has stalled since the third quarter of 2002.

The possibility of war has weakened the dollar significantly against the yen, making Japanese exports less competitive.

The yen was trading at about 117.90 yen to the dollar on Monday up from about 125 yen in early December.