The value of retail sales in Japan was down 0.4 percent on month in June, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Monday - coming in at 13.225 trillion yen.
That missed expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the upwardly revised 1.4 percent gain in May (originally 1.3 percent).
On a yearly basis, retail sales climbed 5.9 percent, matching forecasts and up from 5.8 percent in the previous month.
Commercial sales were down 0.3 percent on month and up 0.2 percent on year at 49.001 trillion yen, while wholesale sales slipped 0.6 percent on month and 1.8 percent on year at 35.776 trillion yen.
