Japan's tertiary activity dropped for the first time in five months in January, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed on Friday.
The tertiary activity index declined 0.7 percent month-on-month in January, after a 0.1 percent increase in December.
Among the individual components, the living and amusement-related services, medical, health care and welfare, retail trade, and business-related services decreased in January.
Meanwhile, wholesale trade, finance and insurance, electricity, gas, heat supply and water, real estate, transport and postal activities, information and communications, and goods rental and leasing increased.
On a yearly basis, tertiary activity gained 1.6 percent in January, following a 1.0 percent rise in the previous month. That was the strongest increase since July.
