JAPAN DATA: Combined sales at Japanese department stores in March
totaled Y462.4 billion, down 14.7% on year, posting the first drop in
two months, the Japan Department Stores Association said. In addition to
damage from the March 11 earthquake disaster in northern Japan, stores
in the eastern region were forced to cut their operating hours by power
outages after the quake and tsunami wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant that supplies electricity to Tokyo and neighbouring cities.
But the industry group also said department store sales in the first 20
days of April improved to be unchanged from year-earlier levels.