Japanese retail sales dropped 8.5 percent in March from a year earlier as last month\'s massive earthquake and tsunami dampened sentiment among consumers, the government said Wednesday.
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| Luxury sales outlets are seen in Tokyo\'s Ginza Street. Retail sales in Japan dropped 8.5 percent in March from a year earlier. |
The decline, reversing a 0.1 percent gain in February, was largely due to a cut in spending on non-essential items following the March 11 disaster, the ministry of economy, trade and industry said.
Auto sales plunged 32.8 percent in March from a year earlier, with machinery sales down 17.3 percent. Sales of clothes and textiles fell 10.0 percent but fuel sales rose 5.1 percent, it said.