Sales of imported motor vehicles in Japan rose 0.1 percent in August from a year earlier to 18,918 units, the first rise in three months, the Japan Automobile Importers Association said Thursday.

Cumulative sales from January to August came to 178,983 units, down 1.6 percent from the same period the previous year, the association said. The figures include sales of vehicles that Japanese automakers manufactured overseas for the domestic market.

In August, sales of vehicles produced by foreign automakers dropped 1.5 percent to 17,598 units, but sales of vehicles produced by Japanese automakers at overseas factories rose 28.3 percent to 1,320 units, it said.