Japan's exports dropped 6.8 percent year-on-year to 6.46 trillion yen (59.1 billion dollars) in March for the sixth straight month of fall amid slow growth in China, the government said Wednesday.

    Japan's shipments to other Asian countries including China fell 9.7 per cent from a year earlier to 3.32 trillion yen for the seventh consecutive month of decline, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report.

    The figure accounts for about 51 per cent of Japan's total exports in the month, the ministry said. Exports to China, Japan's largest trading partner, declined 7.1 per cent to 1.12 trillion yen. 

    Japan's overall imports dropped 14.9 per cent to 5.7 trillion yen due mainly to falling global energy prices, with imports of liquefied natural gas down 43.7 per cent and those of petroleum declining 36.1 per cent.