Japan's machine tool orders increased significantly in December, data released by the Japan Machine Tool Builders' Association (JMTBA) showed Wednesday.

The value of orders for machine tools climbed 28 percent annually to 1116.98 billion yen in December. Demand in the domestic market advanced 41.6 percent, and export demand rose by 21.9 percent.

In the whole of 2013, machine tool orders decreased 7.9 percent from the prior year. Driving the downturn, export orders fell 14.4 percent, which was partially offset by a 6.6 percent gain in domestic demand.