Japanese exports to China fell 14.5% in November, as a newly elected right-wing government in Tokyo pledged to stand up for the country’s territorial rights in the East China Sea, South China Morning Post reported. Exports from Japan to China fell as demand for various products from automobiles to construction equipment sagged, official data showed Wednesday. The figures mean the US is now Japan’s largest export market, ahead of China for the first time in roughly a year. However, Beijing remains Tokyo’s largest trade partner overall. The results come amid a change in leadership in Japan, where newly-elected party leader Shinzo Abe has vowed to take a hawkish stance in the row with China over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. The dispute caused anti-Japan protests to erupt in China and a fall in sales of Japanese-brand products, most markedly cars, earlier this year.
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