Domestic shipments of flat-screen TVs totaled 746,000 units in October, down 73.7 percent from a year earlier in the steepest monthly drop on record and the first fall below 1 million units since May 2009.
The decline also marked the third straight month of contraction, according to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association, which began compiling comparable data in January 2001.
The dropoff reflects a decline in replacement demand following completion of the transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting in July, association officials said.
Shipments plunged in all size categories — 61.9 percent for 29-inch and smaller TVs, 72.3 percent for 30- to 36-inch TVs and 85.5 percent for 37-inch and bigger TVs, the association said.