Inflation slowed for a fourth month in November and industrial production and retail sales unexpectedly dropped, based on government data released Friday, pointing to further weakness in an economy Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is trying to revive from recession.
Output fell 0.6 percent in November from a month earlier, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported, against a median estimate of a 0.8 percent increase in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Retail sales slid 0.3 percent, while consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier. Real wages fell the most since 2009.
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