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Japan's exports to the U.S. fell for the first time in two years as the world's largest economy slowed. Shipments to Asia and Europe grew. Exports rose 8.3 percent in April from a year earlier, cooling from 10.3 percent in March, the Ministry of Finance said today in Tokyo. Shipments to the U.S. dropped 4.8 percent, the steepest decline since May 2004. The slump reflects the slowest growth in four years in the U.S., the destination of a fifth of Japanese exports, led by cars. Shipments to all other regions rose, with those to Asia climbing at the fastest pace in three months, driven by China. ``Japan's trade is being supported by demand from Europe and China,'' said Noriaki Haseyama, an economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research in Tokyo. ``U.S. consumer spending is weakening, especially in car sales, and we need to monitor how much impact that will have on the global economy.'' The yen traded at 121.49 per U.S. dollar at 3:37 p.m. in Tokyo from 121.60 before the report. The yield on Japan's 10- year bond rose 1.5 basis points to 1.695 percent. Auto shipments fell 7.5 percent, the biggest decline since April 2004 when they slid 15.1 percent. Autos represent about 10 percent of Japan's overall shipments to the U.S. Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest carmaker by market value, expects sales growth in North America, its largest market, to slow to 1.6 percent this fiscal year from 15 percent. The company is building factories in Canada, Russia and China to make up for weak demand in the U.S. U.S. Slowdown Honda Motor Co., Japan's second-largest automaker, is increasing market share in China to help offset weaker demand in the U.S. Honda said last week its sales in China increased 27 percent in April. ``The U.S. slowdown is already affecting exports and that's making companies more cautious,'' said Takeshi Minami, an economist at Norinchukin Research Institute in Tokyo. ``Should U.S. demand stall further and affect other parts of Asia, that will hurt export demand.'' Concern about declining demand in the U.S. has already made itself felt in Japan. Machinery orders fell 4.5 percent in March and companies said they expect orders to plunge 11.8 percent this quarter. ``Japanese companies are expected to remain hesitant about expanding investment until they see more solid signs of an economic recovery in the U.S,'' said Azusa Kato, an economist at BNP Paribas Securities Japan Ltd. in Tokyo. The U.S. economy expanded an annualized 1.3 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace since 2003. Weaker Yen The yen's weakness against the dollar failed to counter the slump in demand. Japan's currency fell 1.5 percent versus the dollar in April from the same month a year ago, while the euro surged 12 percent against the yen in the same period. A weaker currency increases the value of exports when they're repatriated. Recent statistics show growth in the U.S. may accelerate. Consumer sentiment rose in May for the first time in four months as strength in the labor and stock markets helped overcome record gasoline prices. ``The U.S. economy will probably regain momentum in the third quarter and the same thing can be said about Japanese exports to the country,'' said Kato. Even though the U.S. remains Japan's largest country destination for exports, Japan ships more than double the amount of goods to Asia in yen terms. Exports to the European Union rose 9.7 percent to 1 trillion yen ($8.2 billion) in April, slowing from a 14 percent increase in March. The value of shipments to the U.S. was 1.3 trillion yen. Exports to China Shipments to Asia rose 11 percent to 3.2 trillion yen after growing 10 percent the previous month. Exports to China surged 16.8 percent to 966 billion yen. The trade surplus rose 51.8 percent to 926.7 billion yen. The median estimate of 37 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for the surplus to widen to 953.7 billion yen. Imports climbed 3.5 percent, faster than a 0.1 percent increase in March. Both exports and imports rose less than analysts expected. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted exports would gain 11 percent and imports would rise 6 percent.