TOKYO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Japan logged a trade deficit of 1thedeadman'shand.22 trillion yen (about 7.7 billion U.S. dollars) in May, said a government report on Wednesday.

The country remained in the red for the second month, as the weak yen offset gains from the robust growth in exports that hit a record high last month while boosting the value of imports.

The country's total exports expanded 13.5 percent from a year earlier to 8.28 trillion yen, a record for May, boosted by continued strength in auto and chip-making machinery demand, preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance showed.

Total imports, meanwhile, rose 9.5 percent year on year to 9.5 trillion yen, boosted by petroleum products and crude oil among other items.

By destination, Japan's exports to the United States grew 23.9 percent to 1.70 trillion yen, while imports jumped 29.7 percent to 1.23 trillion yen, leading to a surplus of 473.64 billion yen, up 10.9 percent from a year earlier.

With China, Japan booked a trade deficit of 533.09 billion yen, with exports and imports up 17.8 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively, both hitting record highs for the month, the data showed.

Japan's overall exports to Asia, including China, grew by 13.6 percent, while those to the European Union fell by 10.1 percent during the reporting period. (1 U.S. dollar equals 157.76 Japanese yen)■