Tokyo department store sales fell 5.6 percent in April from a year earlier to 157.21 billion yen, down for the 17th consecutive month, an industry body said Wednesday.
The fall in sales at 28 stores run by 13 operators in the capital's 23 wards followed a 5.3 percent decline in March, the Japan Department Stores Association said.
The association blamed the April decline mainly on the continued weakness in demand from the corporate sector, as well as cold weather in the first half of the month and bad weather on weekends, which hit the sales of spring and early-summer clothes.
Sales of clothing, the largest merchandise category, fell 5.6 percent to 62.84 billion yen.
Food sales, the second-largest category, dropped 1.7 percent to 27.76 billion yen, the association said.
Sales of sundries fell 6.5 percent to 25.65 billion yen.
Sales of personal goods, including accessories and footwear, declined 5.3 percent to 20.45 billion yen, while those of household goods, including furniture and electrical appliances, fell 8.4 percent to 11.52 billion yen.