Japan's domestic auto sales dropped 9.4 percent to 319,940 vehicles in May from a year earlier for a second consecutive month, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said June 2.

The negative impact of the rise in the consumption tax rate from 3 percent to 5 percent is still affecting domestic auto sales, and the trend is likely to continue at least until this month, the officials of JADA said. Sales of passenger cars declined 10.6 percent to 210,634 units. Sales of cars with engine capacity of more than 2,000cc were hit especially hard, showing a decline of 20.3 percent to 45,647. Sales of cars with smaller engines posted 164,987 units, down 7.5 percent from the previous year.

Sales of trucks dropped 6.9 percent to 108,513 units, while those of buses declined 24.6 percent to 793 units. All automakers except Daihatsu Motor Co. and Suzuki Motor Co. posted a decline in sales.