Japan's exports fell in June at their slowest pace this year as demand picked up worldwide, helping the trade surplus widen for the first time in 20 months and setting the stage for an economic recovery.

Shipments abroad declined 35.7 percent from a year earlier, after dropping 40.9 percent in May, the Finance Ministry said Thursday. Economists predicted exports would decrease 35.1 percent.

The surplus widened to ¥508 billion.