Japanese automakers, aided by a weakening yen, cranked up U.S. vehicle production by 36 percent last year while boosting imports from Japan by 19 percent.

Japanese automakers built 3.3 million cars and trucks in the U.S. last year, up from 2.4 million in 2011, according to data from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. That was the most since 2007, when Japanese automakers produced 3.5 million vehicles in the U.S., JAMA said.

As U.S. auto sales reached their highest level last year since 2007, Japanese automakers boosted their U.S. market share to 36.9 percent, from 34.9 percent in 2011.

- Bloomberg News