Japan's trade deficit in November expanded 37.9 percent on-year to $11.3 billion, a record for the month, official data showed Wednesday, in a worrying sign for the world's third-largest economy.

The trade shortfall came to 953.4 billion yen, marking the fifth straight month of deficit and a widening from a year-earlier deficit of 691.2 billion yen.

Overall, exports fell 4.1 percent while imports edged up 0.8 percent.

Shipments to key trader partner China tumbled 14.5 percent, marking another month where a Tokyo-Beijing territorial row that sparked a Chinese consumer boycott of Japanese goods appeared to weigh on trade.

Exports to Europe -- a key market for Japanese goods -- were off 19.9 percent as demand on the debt-strapped continent sagged.

The latest gloomy data for Japan's economy comes just days after the conservative Liberal Democratic Party swept to an electoral victory at the weekend.

Hawkish LDP leader Shinzo Abe has pledged to boost infrastructure spending and pressure the Bank of Japan (BoJ) into more aggressive easing measures to reflate the economy.

The central bank starts a two-day policy meeting Wednesday with the yen tumbling in recent weeks on speculation that the BoJ will take some kind of policy action after it meets.

Last week, the bank's quarterly Tankan survey showed confidence among Japanese manufacturers hit a near three-year low in the final months of 2012, adding to concerns about the already weak economy.

That came after separate data showed the economy contracted in the July-September quarter and possibly in the previous three months, signaling Japan may have slipped into a recession. (AFP)