Companies in the January-March quarter suffered their largest sales dip since the economic downturn triggered by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, according to revised data released Monday by the Finance Ministry as the coronavirus pandemic hit more businesses than previously estimated.
Sales across all industrial sectors dropped 7.5 percent to ¥344.59 trillion, revised downward from a 3.5 percent decline in the preliminary data released in June. It was the steepest quarterly fall since the 11.6 percent tumble in April-June 2011, when corporate activities deteriorated after the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent disasters devastated the Tohoku region, the ministry said.
The ministry released the revised figures after collecting data from companies that were unable to reply in time when the preliminary report was being compiled. The initial response rate dropped over 10 points from the previous quarter, apparently due to the pandemic.