Retail sales in Japan added just 0.2 percent on year in December, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Thursday, worth 13.524 trillion yen.
That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.9 percent and was down from the 0.5 percent gain in November.
Sales from large retailers added just 0.1 percent on year to 2.155 trillion yen - also missing expectations for a gain of 0.5 percent and down from 1.1 percent in the previous month.
Wholesale sales tumbled 2.1 percent on year to 29.742 trillion yen, the data showed, while commercial sales slid an annual 1.3 percent to 43.266 trillion yen.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales dipped 0.3 percent versus forecasts for a gain of 0.3 percent following the 0.2 percent decline a month earlier.
For the fourth quarter of 2014, retail sales added 0.7 percent on year to 36.538 trillion yen, while large retailer sales added an annual 0.4 percent to 5.490 trillion yen.
Wholesale sales fell 2.1 percent on year in Q4 to 83.735 trillion yen. Commercial sales dropped an annual 1.3 percent to 120.273 trillion yen.
For all of 2014, retail sales climbed 1.7 percent to 141.233 trillion yen, while large retail sales added 0.9 percent to 20.194 trillion yen.
Wholesale sales added just 0.1 percent to 327.648 trillion yen, while commercial sales gained 0.6 percent to 468.881 trillion yen.
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