Sales in major supermarkets and department stores are down, according to the Okinawa General Bureau, who announced sales figures for March from 28 large-sized supermarkets and three department stores in Okinawa was ¥10.47 billion, a 7.3 percent drop from March 1998. Alcohol sales were hardest hit. The Okinawa General Bureau found department store sales amounted to ¥2.8 billion yen, while supermarkets recorded ¥7.66 billion in sales. The Japanese economy has been hard hit by the recession over the past 12 months, and this may account for the fall in sales since June last year.
