Industrial production in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on month in March, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in Thursday's preliminary reading.
That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent and down from 2.0 percent in February.
On a yearly basis, industrial production slipped 1.7 percent, also missing forecasts for a decline of 0.5 percent following the 0.5 percent increase in the previous month.
Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production, saying that it is showing signs of an upward movement.
