Sales at department stores in Tokyo's 23 wards fell to 1 trillion yen in the January-June period, down 3 percent from a year earlier and the first decline in two years on a first-half year basis, the Japan Department Stores Association said Tuesday.
The decrease is the second largest after the 6.7 percent decline registered in the first half of 1998.
Sales of clothing, the largest commodity among department store merchandise, fell 1.9 percent to 391.37 billion yen, and sales of food, the second largest segment, fell 2.3 percent to 189.94 billion yen.