Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released its housing starts data on Monday. Housing starts in Japan rose 0.2% year-on-year in January, beating expectations for a flat reading, after a 1.3% drop in December.

On a yearly basis, housing starts were up to 873,000 in January from 860,000 in December.

Construction orders slid 13.8% year-on-year in January, after a 14.8% rise in December.