Japan's exports in October massively beat expectations, government data on Friday showed, as shipments to Europe and Asia saw robust growth.

Exports grew 3.6% year on year compared with expectations of a 1.1% growth by economists polled by Reuters.

However, growth was lower than the 4.2% gain seen in September.

Exports to Asia climbed 4.2% and shipments to Western Europe surged 8.8% year on year, helping offset the 2.7% decline to North America as goods shipped to the U.S. fell 3.1%.

Automobile shipments, the largest Japanese exports to the U.S. by value, fell 7.5% compared to the same period before, but softer than the 24.2% decline seen in the prior month.

The data comes at a time when Japan is locked in a diplomatic spat with its largest trading partner, China, over Prime Minister

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