Japan's core machinery orders slipped for the first time in three months in May, hurting hopes that a pickup in business spending would offset pressure on an economy struggling with surging costs of energy and other imports due to a weak yen.
The decline in core orders comes a day after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's ruling coalition government increased its majority in the Upper House of parliament, strengthening the prime minister's hand as leader.
Core orders, a highly volatile data series regarded as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, lost 5.6% in May from the previous month, posting their first drop in three months, Cabinet Office data showed on Monday.