Local News

The Kyushu Department Stores Association reports that the aggregate sales for the 27 department stores in the Kyushu-Okinawa region for March totaled 47.5 billion yen, an 8.8% year-on-year decline. This is the 16th consecutive drop from the previous year for these sales. The primary factor in March was the plunge in cosmetics and food product sales, which had maintained their strength through the economic downturn. The association attributes this to greater frugality on the part of consumers.