Domestic shipments of mobile phones, excluding personal handy-phone equipment, fell 15.4 percent in June from a year earlier to 4.01 million units, down for the sixth straight month, an industry association said Wednesday.

On a month-to-month basis, however, the shipments increased 20.9 percent, surpassing 4 million units for the first time in three months, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association said.

The monthly rise was probably the result of steadily growing demand for third-generation handsets.