Japan's exports tumbled 15.4 percent from a year earlier in the the first half of 2020, marking the sharpest year-on-year decline in more than 10 years as the global pandemic hit demand for automobiles among other manufactured items, the government said in a report on Monday.

According to the Finance Ministry, in the January-June period exports dropped to 32.36 trillion yen (301.95 billion U.S. dollars), marking the steepest half-yearly fall since the second half of 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Driving the figure down was a sharp decline in car exports in the period, which fell 30.9 percent, with related exports of auto-parts also falling steeply, marking a 29.0 percent drop, the ministry said.

Japan's goods trade deficit in the January-June period stood at 2.24 trillion yen, with the figure remaining negative for the fourth straight half-yearly period, the government's data showed.

Imports, meanwhile, slumped 11.6 percent from the previous year to 34.60 trillion yen, hit by waning domestic demand amid social and business restrictions under the government's nationwide state of emergency declared from mid-April to curb the spread of the virus, the ministry said.

With the United States, Japan's goods trade surplus tumbled 49.3 percent to 1.75 trillion yen in the first half, while exports dropped 27.2 percent on falling demand, especially for auto-related goods, the ministry's data showed.

This compares to a 9.7 percent decline in imports booked with the United States in the recording period, the ministry said.

Japan logged a goods trade deficit with China, its largest trading partner, at 1.70 trillion yen, the ministry said, as exports dipped 3.6 percent from a year earlier to 6.78 trillion yen, while imports dipped 6.7 percent to 8.48 trillion yen, in the first half.

For the whole of Asia including China, Japan's surplus fell 20.5 percent to 1.37 trillion yen, the ministry said. Exports dropped 8.5 percent, while imports were down 7.3 percent, said the ministry.

Japan booked a trade deficit of 729.96 billion yen with the European Union, as exports retreated 17.7 percent, while imports fell 11.3 percent, the Finance Ministry's latest figures showed.

Japan goods trade deficit for the month of June, meanwhile, stood at 268.82 billion yen, with exports declining 26.2 percent from a year earlier to 4.86 trillion yen, while imports fell to 5.13 trillion yen, down 14.4 percent, the Finance Ministry said. (1 U.S. dollar equals 107.18 yen)