Official figures have revealed that for the month of January, Japanese exports managed to rise more than expected, putting to rest fears that China's move to tighten lending might just choke off demand in the area and slow down the economic recovery of Japan.

Also, as compared to last year, imports managed to rise as well for the first time in over a year, with the world's second-largest economy shaking off the effects of the global financial meltdown.

For January, exports rose by a whopping 40.9%, a development which is being viewed as highly encouraging for the Government, which has continued to express concern that the rapid recovery in shipments to across Asian nation might slow down.

"Japan's exports will continue to be strong as domestic demand in Asia isn't showing signs of falling off. The U. S. jobs market will rebound eventually, which will also help. China's monetary tightening isn't aggressive enough to slow Japan's exports. Japan's economy will continue to grow", said Yoshiki Shinke, Senior Economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo.

January's rise in exports has been registered as the third-biggest on record.