Japan retail sales fall on tax hike
Japan's retail sales fell more-than-forecast in June as consumer held back on spending after the recent sales tax hike.
Sales dropped 0.6%, from a year ago. Most analysts had expected a 0.5% fall.
Japan raised the tax from 5% to 8% on 1 April - the first hike in 17 years.
Jesper Koll from JP Morgan in Tokyo told the BBC that while consumers have not been happy with the tax rise, Japan's underlying economic recovery was "still intact".
He added that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continued to remain popular despite the tax rise.