Japan's Disappointing Exports Report Had A Key Bright Spot

Economists were looking for an increase of 0.9 percent.

On the surface, this was rather disappointing considering the dramatic devaluation of the yen, which has effectively made its goods cheaper to foreign customers.

However, it's important to note that the timing of China's Lunar New Year holiday certainly hurt the number.

One investment advisor told Business Insider that we also shouldn't ignore the the "bright spot" in the report: exports to ASEAN, a group of Southeast Asian countries that includes Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Exports to this region actually climbed as importers enjoyed the cheaper prices. Check out this chart:

One country that will suffer greatly amid this yen devaluation is South Korea, Japan's big competitor in the export market in that part of the world.

Japan's yen devaluation has effectively made South Korea's goods a whole lot more expensive.