The value of retail sales in Japan jumped 7.0 percent on year in August, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday - coming in at 13.391 trillion yen.
That exceeded expectations for a gain of 6.0 percent following the upwardly revised 7.0 percent gain in July (originally 6.8 percent).
On a monthly basis, retail sales rose 0.1 percent, easing from 2.2 percent in the previous month.
Commercial sales were up 1.7 percent on year and 0.5 percent on month at 48.023 trillion yen, while wholesale sales fell 0.3 percent on year and rose 0.9 percent on month to 34.633 trillion yen.
