Japan's tertiary activity declined in December after rising in the previous two months, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry showed on Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted tertiary activity index fell 0.4 percent month-on-month in December, reversing a 0.1 percent rise in November.
Among the individual components, information services, transport and postal activities, medical, health care and welfare, living and amusement related services, and manufacturing-dependent business services declined in December.
Meanwhile, finance and insurance, financial services, electricity, gas, heat supply and water, and retail and wholesale trade increased.
On a yearly basis, tertiary activity rose 1.3 percent in December, after a 1.6 percent gain in the prior month.
