Japan's trade surplus rose 11.3 percent in November from a year earlier to 990.2 billion yen, marking a fifth straight month of increase as a drop in imports outpaced a decline in exports, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

Imports slid 5.2 percent to 3.56 trillion yen, dropping for the first time in 15 months. Exports meanwhile fell 2.0 percent for the first drop in five months, to 4.55 trillion yen.

Exports to the United States shrank 21.1 percent to 1.09 trillion yen, showing the biggest percentage drop on record, and down for the 11th consecutive month. The ministry began compiling data in the current form in 1979.