Japan's foreign exchange reserves hit a new record of 908.96 billion U.S. dollars at the end of March, the Finance Ministry said Friday.

The new high broke the record of 905.05 billion dollars registered in February, the first time that Japan's foreign reserves surpassed the 900- billion-dollar line, the ministry said.

Tokyo's foreign exchange reserves remain the second largest in the world, after China, whose holdings reached 1.07 trillion dollars at the end of 2006, according to official data from China's central bank.

The rise in Japan's foreign exchange reserves was attributed to years of government intervention to keep the yen down against the dollar and help exporters stay competitive.

Japan's foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in foreign currencies, plus International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserves, IMF special drawing rights (SDRs) and gold.