Japanese Department Store Sales Sank in December

Sales at Japan’s department stores fell 4.3 percent in 2008 from the previous year to 7.38 trillion yen ($81.58 billion), the 12th year of declines, according to the Japan Department Stores Association. Sales in December dropped 9.4 percent, the biggest decline in a decade.

Japan’s economy has been struggling for many years, and the latest global economic issues deepened the country’s recession.

The fall in December sales were the worst plunge since March 1998, when sales dropped 20.8 percent.

The Nagoya region, home to heavy industries such as Toyota, suffered the sharpest fall in December, tumbling 13.2 percent as global and domestic demand for cars was hard hit.