Japan’s department store sales rise for 30th month

Tokyo: Sales at Japan’s department stores rose for the 30th straight month in August, boosted by record tourist demand for tax-free goods.

Department store sales went up 3.9 percent year on year to 403.4 billion yen, or about 2.78 billion US dollars, in August, according to data from the Japan Department Stores Association.

Duty-free sales jumped 45 per cent to more than 46 billion yen, the highest for the month since records began in 2014 despite the yen’s recent appreciation.

Earlier government data showed Japan logged 2,933,000 foreign visitors in August, up 36.0 per cent from a year earlier, marking a record high for the month, Xinhua news agency reported.

Visitors to Japan from the Chinese mainland stood at 745,800, representing the largest single group, followed by those from South Korea at 612,100.

–IANS