Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism released its housing starts data on Tuesday. Housing starts in Japan rose 9.0% year-on-year in April, beating expectations for a 3.5% gain, after a 8.4% increase in March. It was the biggest rise since June 2015.

On a yearly basis, housing starts were up to 995,000 in April from 993,000 in March.

Construction orders plunged 16.9% year-on-year in April, after a 19.8% rise in March.